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ericlwoods · 5 years

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Not sure how to start this write up. There is some hesitancy on my part, but not for the usual reasons.

Not for fear of Leica adherent backlash. I am a casual member of the same. Very much enjoyed a brief Leica film dalliance I fully understand the Leica allure.

https://flic.kr/p/26omc7J

And I loved what the Leica M3 (KEH Blog Post here) could do.

https://flic.kr/p/YPNiHi

What happened? As much as I loved the M3 functionally it was a dead end fiscally.

Body: I would rather in body metering. But that means a film M6 (M5 also technically) which currently goes for more than a few brand new full-frame digital cameras.

Lens: Had and loved the Voigtlander 50mm f/1.5. But why not a proper Leica? They are quite expensive, especially when you go wider than f/2. Multiples of the cost of the M3 body alone used in fact.

Media: An M mount digital Leica was beyond my reach. The cost of moving to a digital M mount was a hard proposition for me personally.

Sidebar: Not saying digital M mounts are not worth the price. They are. Simply a matter of them costing more than I am willing or able to spend.

What did I do next? I already enjoyed Voigtlander lenses so I went for a less expensive Voigtlander Bessa R2 that has in body metering.

https://flic.kr/p/261676d

Perfect for my purposes for much less spend. So it looks like I dodged the Leica bullet. What happened? Put simply the Q happened.

As soon as it was released back in 2015 I knew the Q would haunt me. Some scoffed at such an expensive all in one camera. Not me. Without knowing anything more the mere fact that this was a camera with:

An AF Summilux lens included where a manual focus M version would cost more alone.

No rangefinder, but zoom and peeking aids like those I grew to appreciate on other mirrorless cameras.

Full frame. As much as I appreciate the Leica name I would not purchase a less than full frame lens Leica product.

I stopped reading further. Knew I was in trouble. A close encounter with a Q in the wild proved problematic as well. On a local photo walk accomplished photographer Edde Burgess took what is still to this day my favorite portrait of me.

Edde took this with his Leica Q that I tried not to look directly at during the walk for too long. In short, I had a medium format film camera in hand and a bag full of digital gear, while Edde was rolling with one self-contained wonder. Still, I resisted.

Then after some years went by…

A Q showed up at my local camera shop recently.

Dang it.

Took it in hand and told myself not to look at the price on the bottom. I looked. Was initially stunned by, but not really surprised by, the price. Holding its value better than I had hoped.

Went home and looked at the prices of examples online and realized the Q really holds its value. This local example was very much priced to move. If I ever was going to get one this would likely have to be it. Dang it.

Went on to finally read and watch the reviews and deep dive into the specs I had all avoided all of these years. Hope was that these would back me down. Snap me out of it. Sheesh. A rare consensus. Praise after praise. And the specs listed features I did not expect of any all in one camera, especially a Leica.

OIS

Found this particularly surprising. My one real bogey, the RX1, does not have this feature. Digital stabilization does not count. Having long become spoiled with OIS it is now a must-have feature.

Macro

So avoided early reviews and specs that I had no idea that it had a macro function. The party piece is the shifting distance markings. Amazing bit of engineering and design that actually works.

Leaf shutter.

Silent shooting with physical shutter up to 1/2000s and flash sync up to 1/500s. Will not ever likely use flash, but the silent shooting is a definite plus.

E-shutter.

Up to 1/16,000s shutter. What? This means completely silent stills in daylight with the aperture wide open without an ND filter any time I want.

WiFi/NFC.

Well implemented remote control and file transfers by all accounts. I see you Leica.

10fps… 10fps!

3 years old and bests the rightly highly regarded newbie 8 fps A7iii (No ding intended. Love that camera. Just facts.).

AF.

Fast and accurate AF on a full frame Leica. That is a ‘take my money’ sentence.

Direct manual focus.

With assists. WIth hard stops. Focus tab with an ingenious AF/MF switch built in.

Not drive by wire. With zoom and peeking. No. it is not a proper rangefinder, but it more than makes up for it with it’s well thought out and elegant implementation.

Face detect AF.

Another ‘take my money’ feature.

Touch screen with touch focus.

Greatly helps to mitigate the omission of a tilt screen for me.

AF Tracking.

Actually works.

Favorites menu.

Most recent firmware I installed added a favorites menu where you can choose what comes up first. Found the menus already to be intuitive and quick to navigate, but this is even better.

User profiles.

Quickly switch between my favorite self defined configurations (B&W/High Speed/Street/Normal) just like I have set on all of my other cameras.

Video.

Not pro grade. No mic jack. Not 4K. But AF tracking is good and more than serviceable for the few occasions I would want to capture video.

Decided a test drive was in order. Does it add up? Have been disappointed in the past when real life experience does not match the hype and/or spec sheet. Not the case here.

Lower price non Leica comparisons.

Having owned and tried many digital cameras (Sony RX1 line, Fuji X100 line, Ricoh GR line and the like) I can honestly say that this camera is greater than the sum of its parts. It is not about capability since any number of cameras can produce excellent images. But even if you took the word Summilux out of the equation this camera matched or bested every camera listed above ergonomically in my book. I spent near no time staring at the camera wondering how to change setting X or Y. Switch to MF? Move the focus wheel on the lens away from AF. Change the aperture manually? Move the dial on the lens off of A. Change the shutter speed manually? Move top plate mounted shutter dial off of A. Change the ISO? Press button on the back marked ISO and turn the wheel. Hey, what is this unmarked dial on the top do? What do you know it adjusts the exposure compensation. All this in the first few moments after having picked up the camera without ever picking up a manual or visiting Youtube. Your mileage may vary, but add the Summilux name back in on top of that (and my notes below) and it is a no brainer for me.

Higher price Leica comparisons.

Leica M acolytes look away until the next paragraph. Nothing to see here… Seems absurd to say, but at the Qs price point there is value to be had here. To achieve the equivalent Leica M specs of this lens and body combination one would need to spend many thousands more for a digital 24MP M 240 body (new or used) or Summilux lens (any focal length used or 28mm new). And I did say ‘or’ not ‘and’. Combine the two and you easily surpass what I paid for my dadmobile daily driver on up into five digits. Some would say that an M advantage is that you can change the lens. Moot point for me. Truth is that if I ever did buy a comparable M lens and body there would be no budget left ever for another lens. And no AF at that price. Tell me of a less expensive AF true Summilux full frame experience anywhere and I am all ears. Not arguing worth. Stating what I am personally willing to pay.

But both comparisons ultimately miss the point. To say the most cliched of cliched things you have to use it and evaluate the results for it to make sense. Hard to relay in words, but since we are here let me try. Imagine if you combine:

Summilux.

I.E. outstanding sharpness wide open, class leading sharpness stopped down a little, great focus fall off, great contrast, creamy bokeh, and wonderful colors. Best lens I own hands down is permafused to this camera.

Near DSLR speed swift and accurate AF acquisition.

Even in low light. How they did this with contrast detect AF only I have no idea. Some Panasonic partner magic perhaps?

10fps.

With useable AF-C tracking in a pinch. That bests all of my other quite capable interchangeable lens cameras.

Best of the best mirrorless manual focus implementation.

Utterly silent shooting.

Best of any digital I own 1/16,000s shutter speed available.

Not to be used for panning/fast moving objects or it will distort, but fantastic in relatively static brightly lit conditions. 1/2000s leaf shutter available if need be for motion.

24.2MP.

This the goldilocks MP count for me. Any less is not enough of a post crop detail safety net for my liking. Any more eats into archive RAW archival storage space quickly and noticeably impacts the speed of my post processing workflow.

Full frame.

Some of my favorite work ever was done in MFT. APS-C is just fine for most all purposes. But if available I prefer full frame.

OIS.

Mentioned above, but deserves mentioning again.

Time lapse, panorama and other scene modes.

Have not gotten around to using any of this yet. But glad it has them.

Macro.

Mentioning again, because this is not just macro writ large on a non macro lens, but actual fast AF wonderfully implemented real deal macro capabilities.

EVF.

Best EVF I have ever used. And I have used a lot of EVFs.

In body 35mm and 50mm field of view crop.

May seem silly since you can crop after the fact. Made more useful since the images are so sharp that cropping still leaves plenty of detail.

Great for sharing real time with the Leica app. Crop while you shoot instead of after the fact.

If you shoot RAW and JPEG like I do it is the best of both worlds since RAW files are not cropped.

Monochrome JPEGs.

There are other JPEG settings, but this is the only one that matters to me.

Small.

No, not as small as the also full frame RX1 line, but tried it and that camera is too small for my beef mitts. Bought and sold two RX100 cameras for the same reason. For me there is such a thing as too small. A nice size with half case and hood, but remove both and I am able to get this camera into a jacket pocket. Plus more compact than a similar M set up. And far more compact than a similarly spec’d A7III and lens. I believe this may be the most compact brighter than f/2 full frame digital camera and body combination on the market currently.

Summilux, summilux, and in conclusion summilux.

But not so fast. There have to be minuses, right?

Focal length.

This was one potential demerit that concerned me. As I have pointed out ad nauseam my usual go-to prime focal length is 50mm or thereabouts. But in use, the 28mm focal length has not proved to be an issue at all. It has forced me to move in to get the shot sometimes, but this is where the small, silent, and quick nature of this camera pays dividends. So far I have thoroughly enjoyed taking shots while in the fray rather than having to back up and away. Has proven handy with environmental candid shots also. And if I do need to step back the bright aperture, ample MPs, accurate focus, and very sharp lens means that cropping is no issue. I should not have been surprised since two of my favorite all in one film cameras are 28mm.

Lack of weatherproofing.

Would have been nice. But not really an issue for me. Some of my cameras are weatherproofed technically and they all get put away at the first sign of rain regardless.

Saved the most biased, eye roll/cringe inducing, subjective assessment for last.

Fun.

Fun to use. Fun to review the results. A highly technical and very capable contraption that is simple to use for any situation that does not require a superwide or telephoto lens. I have cameras that have high keeper rates. The Q is the rare camera that has a high “wow factor” rate. And the only one I own film or digital with that “wow factor’ that does not have some usability compromise involved.

So much so that I have gone from carrying a gear bag everywhere to just carrying this camera. In fact I have already traded quite a bit of the gear the Q displaces without hesitation to partially fund this acquisition.

But lastly it has been out so long you might mention. True. But I know of no camera released since that tops this camera. Some mentioned a Leica Q 2 one day, but why? In my humble opinion there is little that would improve this camera.

So in case you were still wondering I like it. A lot.

Here are some sample shots below and here is a link to an ongoing gallery.

Happy shooting.

-ELW

The Leica Q 4 years on: An amazing camera still. @leica_camera #leicaq #leica #leicaqtype116 Not sure how to start this write up. There is some hesitancy on my part, but not for the usual reasons.

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fletter · 6 years

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I got the plug in Oaxaca...

¡Hola, bienvenidos! I'm writing a thing, it has pictures. Is it a thing? Is it a blog? Do blogs still happen? What is even real anymore? Who knows but we're going to find out.

I recently returned to Oaxaca to finish out my sabbatical/premature retirement/gap year wandering the globe, doing an intensive Spanish immersion course and homestay in Oaxaca, Mexico. Coincidentally Oaxaca is where I was vacationing when I first learned of the job that would take me to China for four years. So I kind of felt it was fitting to finish out my year here and see what comes next.

These photos are all from my first week back in my favorite state in this beautiful country, the soul of Mexico and home to many regional cuisines and folk art, from the Centro district in downtown Oaxaca de Juarez to the southern-most tip of Mexico in the sleepy fishing village of Puerto Ángel.

I felt like the time and place to dust of my old Olympus XA2 35mm camera and use up the last couple rolls of film I've been dragging around the planet. I had shelved my multiple film cameras early into this journey realizing that the realities of traveling for a year with gobs of film, multiple cameras while finding decent developers was going to be more of a challenge than I was up for, especially after a processor in Bangkok ruined 6 rolls of film my first month in.

So I did what any sensible person would do and I limited myself to one emergency film camera and purchased my first digital camera in over 10 years – a Ricoh GRII, the best and dumbest camera I could find after a brief fling with a much fancier Sony model. I've documented most of my journey on the Ricoh and my plan is to slowly start processing the tens of thousands of photos and putting them up here. Don't hold your breath.

It's been really enjoyable getting back behind the plastic viewfinder of the XA2 again, with the knowledge that every press of the shutter counts and without the knowledge of if you got the shot or any shot at all. It's also been very enriching to return to this region of Mexico, there's just some magic here that I can't put down in words but perhaps I can try to capture on film.

My first full weekend back in the city I set out to explore the Colonia Reforma neighborhood, a slightly upper-middle class barrio that's a mix of well kept casas, bustling cafes and trendy restaurants. The purpose of my mission was to locate this tiny tienda I had heard stocked a local kombucha. It was quite a jaunt but I found the little organic shop and was successful in my gut positive purchase.

On my way back down to Centro, where I stay, a thought randomly popped into my head — Baseball! Years ago I had attended a game here and it was a crash course in Mexican slang, swearing and terms of endearment for the opposing team's mothers, in other words, a hoot! I found the website of the Guerreros, Oaxaca's professional team, and they were playing, better yet they were playing a double header and it was right in the path of my walk home. Sixty pesos later (roughly $3) I had two tickets (it was buy one get one free day) so the older gentleman behind me got in for free. ¡Yay Mexico!

I managed to catch the final three innings of the first game, a shutout 10-0 in favor of Oaxaca. Then after a lengthy intermission, a Guerrero dog a local cerveza and some shared laughs over my terrible Spanish it was time for the second game. It was also time for the daily thunderstorms. Within minutes it began pouring buckets and the wind whipped up so furiously, blowing the tarp all over the place, the field crew couldn't even get the bases covered. The entire crowd ran for the exits where we all huddled together wet and steamy in the stairwells and entranceways waiting out the storm. Unfortunately the storm had more patience than we did and after about 45 minutes the crowd was mostly gone. I eventually went too but I assume at some point they played baseball late into the night.

On my way home, slightly tipsy from stadium beers, baseball and a long day in the sun, I happened upon the end of a wedding at the main cathedral in town, Templo de Santo Domingo. If you're not familiar with Mexican weddings, they are a blast and weddings in Oaxaca are some of the most spectacular fiestas I've ever seen.

After the ceremony and reception the entire boisterous crowd spills out onto the plaza in front of the church replete with musicians, fireworks, giant papier-mâché dolls called Monos de Calenda and seemingly the whole town in attendance for what becomes a parade through the entire city. I joined in with parade as it was taking up at least three city blocks at a time with uncles and friends of the newlyweds handing out local mezcal to anyone who looked thirsty or brave enough to try.

After soaking in the good vibes for quite a few blocks I turned off towards home relishing the feeling that I'd just witnessed something quite special and knowing that Oaxaca had dug its claws in me a little bit deeper. In the week that followed I decided to find an apartment and stay for at least the next month and possibly the whole summer. Who knows if I'll ever get this chance again so I might as well take advantage of it. Reality will always be there, for now there's Oaxaca.

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droneseco · 3 years

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Canon M50 Mk II: Is It Really That Bad?

Canon M50 Mk II

9.20 / 10

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If you're looking for a starter camera that makes your photos and videos pop, you can’t go wrong with the EOS M50 Mk II.

Key Features

Lightweight

YouTube Streaming

Vertical Shooting Mode

4K video (Cropped)

Flip-Out Display

Mirrorless

Hot Shoe Mount

Specifications

Brand: Canon

Sensor Size: CMOS APS-C 22.3mm x 14.9mm

Video Resolution: 3840 x 2160

Photo Resolution: 6000 x 4000

Battery: Yes

Connection: USB, HDMI, Audio In

Size: 4.6 x 3.5 x 2.3 inches (Body only)

Weight: 387 g

Water Resistance: No

Lens: 15 - 45 mm kit lens ; EF-M mount

Pros

Easy to Use

Onboard Mic Input

Clean HDMI Out

Vlogging Beast

Wide Range of Accessories

Photos and Videos are Stunning

Durablity

Cons

Battery Life

Only Slight Upgrade from Original

Kit Lens is Just Okay

Canon App is Terrible

Buy This Product

Canon M50 Mk II amazon

Shop

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F-Stops. ISO. Shutter Speed. Autofocus. The Exposure Triangle. Focal Length. 35mm vs. 50mm. Full-Frame vs. Micro Four Thirds. Mirrorless vs. DSLR. As a beginner, this is a short list of terms that you’ll be expected to know to get the best out of a consumer-grade camera.

While there is no substitute for good-old-fashioned-experimentation when it comes to shooting photos, sometimes you want to grab your camera and take a decent picture. But maybe you want to live out your Casey Neistat dreams of being the next Youtube Vlog sensation. Heck, maybe you'd like to use a camera that doesn’t come with a monthly service plan or double as a handheld Bejeweled Blitz machine.

youtube

If only there were an entry-level camera that could help you solve those problems without costing a small fortune. If only a camera could take great photos without generating snotty looks from mustachioed hipsters effortlessly wielding their $8,000 Leicas. Well, folks, allow me to introduce you to the Canon EOS M50 Mk II.

The EOS M50 Mk II is the new 24.1-megapixel, mirrorless camera that improves upon the M50 Mk I from 2018. It uses the DIGIC 8 processor, designed to improve image quality even at higher ISO speeds. The EOS M50 Mk II can shoot 4K—more on that in a moment—at 24 frames per second (FPS); and shoot 1080P up to 60 FPS. The maximum video image size is 3840 x 2160.

Canon considers this its "entry-level" offering, and I am inclined to agree. But, with the entry-level price point and consumer in mind, that means the camera offers several features that make it easy for the average person to use. I think that's one of the EOS M50 Mk II's biggest strengths.

What’s in the Box?

The Canon EOS M50 Mk II Body

15-45mm Zoom lens

Owner’s Manual

Battery

Charger

Lens caps

The Canon M50 Mk II is the second iteration of the previous Canon M50 mirrorless camera staple in the YouTube vlogging world. A search on YouTube yields an almost endless supply of M50 videos. Seriously, everyone has this camera.

The wide use means there's also an abundance of accessories available for the M50 Mark II, including lenses, cages, speed-boosters, USB power adapters, 110v A/C plug-in power supplies, and much more.

So, what makes the EOS M50 Mk II better than the original? And why should you fork over an additional $50 bucks on top of the price of the original M50 for the standard Mk II body-and-kit-lens package? And what about all that negative press?! Isn’t the M50 Mk II just a software update to the original M50?

Yes. Essentially the hardware for the M50 Mk II is the same as the original M50. And Yes, the Mk II is essentially just a software update from the original. Don’t listen to the haters, though. You should still buy the Mk II unless you're only planning on taking photos.

Related: Common Camera Lenses and When to Use Them

But why? Well, mostly because I think it adds $50 worth of additional features that you’re not going to get if you decide to buy the original.

Features like autofocus improvements, and a clean HDMI out, which means that you can plug the M50 MK II into a desktop monitor to gaze into your own pretty face while filming for your adoring YouTube fanbase, or record to an external device.

There’s also better battery life. That means about 1/3 more photos than the original M50, not to mention more video footage. And the Mk II offers improvements to autofocus, as well as a new feature—eye-tracking focus. Plus, you can use autofocus while the AI Servo AF is active—a feature that makes motion capture simple and is absent from the original M50.

Is the EOS M50 Mk II an Upgrade?

If you’re going to make a decently large purchase for a camera that is around $700, then you want the absolute maximum of features packed into whatever you buy. While the original M50 is still a great camera, it’s not the best for vlogging, and the camera’s anemic battery life has been flagged more than once. Of course, you could always spend a little extra and buy another battery if you like. That’s a great way to go as well. Or you could buy the Mk II.

Then there's the autofocus. Canon is famous for its dual pixel autofocus. I won’t get into the jargon-y specifics because I don’t like to bore my readers, but what you need to know is this: Canon's dual pixel autofocus is awesome.

youtube

It’s great for videos and normal photography alike. It’s also fast. Eye-controlled focus (eye-tracking) adds to the dual pixel autofocus by accentuating the subject’s eyes while shooting.

It’s generally accepted that if you want to take good portraits, then you should focus—no pun—on the eyes of your subject. The eye-tracking focus feature makes it easy to do just that.

In addition to the improvements in autofocus, Canon added a vertical video shooting mode designed for your favorite photo and video-based social media platforms. The company has added wireless YouTube streaming (though YouTube restrictions mean you'll need over 1,000 subscribers), and you get that clean HDMI out so that if you’re streaming via the HDMI port, you don’t have to stare at the on-camera settings.

Related: A Complete Guide to the Exposure Triangle in Photography

This on-camera info display was a huge gripe for a lot of folks with the original EOS M50. With that model, whenever you connected an external display, there was no way to turn off the busy informational display settings. The Mk II changes that.

While we’re on the subject of minor gripes with the M50 Mark I, let’s talk about a feature that the Mark II has that the Mark I didn't. The flip-out screen record button.

That means you can now reach over and tap the on-screen button to start your video while you can still see yourself in the frame. The new on-screen record button is a little thing, but it’s something that the vlogging crowd and I certainly appreciate.

The M50 Mark II also makes it quick to get up and running. Charge the battery, pop on the lens, insert a memory card and get shooting. Additionally, for all of you colorists, the Mk II can shoot in a mostly flat color profile with a little software tweaking. But, I should note that it won't shoot LOG.

Did I mention that the M50 Mk II can be used with Zoom and OBS or the Canon EOS Webcam Utility as a webcam? It can, and it is also fabulous for this purpose as long as you have enough battery life to support it.

Personally, I bought an adapter that allows me to plug the camera into an AC cable and plug that cable into the wall. I love it. Every time I use the M50 Mk II as a webcam, I get bombarded with questions about my setup.

For the best use of this feature, I'd recommend you look into the 22mm f2.0 lens that Canon offers for the EF-M mount cameras. This lens gives you a wider shot and a larger aperture than the 15-45mm kit lens that the M50 ships with.

Related: Simple Ways to Improve the Quality of Your Photos

Ease of Use

Arguably the biggest benefit of the Mark II is how easy it is to pick up and use. Unfortunately, the kit lens isn’t the sharpest, and the f/3.5 aperture doesn’t lend itself to the type of creamy bokeh that you’re used to seeing in professional portrait photography. Still, for amateur photographers looking to get their feet wet, this is a great package.

For point-and-shoot photography, the 15-45mm kit lens is more than enough to make your photos pop. Though, you should know that low-light settings are going to require increased ISO. Past 400 things start to get a little grainy, but most photos don’t really suffer until you’re around the 800+ mark.

The one thing the 15-45mm kit lens is excellent at is vlog content creation. Paired with a small on-camera shotgun mic and a gimbal or GorillaPod, this setup is a vlogging beast. It’s no wonder so many YouTubers—some with several hundred thousand followers—use their EOS M50 as their primary run-and-gun rig.

While the Canon’s mic preamp is slightly lacking, using this setup with both the Rode VideoMicro and the Takstar Sgc-598 provided plenty of decent quality audio capture. A little normalization and compression in post were all it took to get decent quality sound.

Related: How to Take Care of Your Camera Lenses

Is the M50 Mk II Durable?

It is, and I want to take a moment to focus on its durability. Now I admit, I am not the most careful person when it comes to my equipment. That’s why, when I managed to knock over my tripod not once but twice, with the M50 Mk II on top of it, I almost wound up on blood pressure meds.

Both times I thought I was going to scoop up a camera with some extreme damage. Maybe a broken viewfinder or a smashed touch screen.

Well, I am happy to report that my Canon M50 Mk II doesn’t have a scratch on it. The lenses aren’t cracked or damaged, and the display is clear and sharp. The body of the camera looks like it was just taken out of the box.

There are really only two possibilities for why this is: either I’m lucky (and I certainly need to be more careful with my equipment) or, maybe the M50 Mk II is a pretty durable unit for even the most buttery of fingers.

What's Not to Love About the M50 Mk II?

After a few weeks using the M50 MK II, I can honestly say I have only a couple of complaints. First is the cropped image in 4K. While this camera is touted as a 4K camera and perfectly capable of recording in 4K, the sensor will dump a large portion of its field of view. This is an additional 1.6x crop over the APS-C crop of 1.6x (2.56x total). Also, while in the 4K mode, you lose Canon’s delicious dual pixel autofocus.

This isn’t really a problem for me, as I don’t like shooting in 4K anyway. Even when I am creating content, I prefer to shoot at 24 FPS in 1080p full HD. Footage shot at 24 FPS has that cinematic look that I adore, and I can use the autofocus to make sure all of my shots are effortlessly tack sharp.

Second, on this list is the Canon iOS app. I hate it. It’s buggy, it’s clunky, it crashes often, and it constantly makes me reset the Wi-Fi settings of the camera to use my phone as a wireless display. The app drives me absolutely insane, and if any Canon app developers are reading—shame on you.

Last on the list is the digital viewfinder. While it works well as a viewfinder, the sensor next to the viewfinder might give me an aneurysm. Whenever I am using the camera for Zoom meetings, I find the sensor will shut off the external display if it is near a reflective surface—namely, the watercolor painting hanging above my desk. Fortunately, this sensor can be disabled in the menu for the M50 Mk II.

Should You Buy the Canon EOS M50 Mk II?

I think you know the answer to this question by now. If you don’t, then get your credit card out; it’s time to do some camera buying. The original M50 was a great all-around camera. The Mark II adds several improvements aimed at content creators and vloggers. If you fit that description, and you can’t afford to spend $3,000 to improve your smartphone shots, then the M50 MK II is a great choice.

If you are looking to start a YouTube channel, then the M50 Mk II has enough features to keep you busy for a while. You might eventually outgrow it, though some YouTubers continue with the M50 well into the six-figure subscriber counts.

If you need a camera that will allow you to level up your photographs, this is the camera to buy. And while you’re at it, think about upgrading from the kit lens to the Canon 32mm F1.4. It’s how I get most of my product photography shots. Finally, if you need a small and lightweight camera for taking on the road or for street photography, the M50 Mark II isn’t cumbersome and doesn’t draw a lot of attention.

On the other hand, if you’re a die-hard camera enthusiast who breathes shutter speeds, or if you can spot the difference between a nifty 50 and a 35mm at 300 yards, then you’re better off buying something a little more high-end. Additionally, if the thought of auto-anything makes you shudder (pun intended), then save up for a while and buy a Sony A7s III. You’ll be much happier.

Final Focus on the EOS M50 Mark II

Overall, the M50 Mk II is a delightful starter camera. Canon makes it easy for a total beginner to pick up the unit and get some great photos off the rip. That’s really what makes it excellent. It has a diverse range of functions for both budding photogs and experienced users alike. Unfortunately, it won’t compete with some of the more expensive models, but for regular people who want a camera that makes their photos look great without much effort, you can’t go wrong with the EOS M50 Mk II.

Ignore the crowd that says this camera is “disappointing.” It’s not. It just has a specific purpose, and what it is designed to do—namely, be an entry-level vlogging camera with excellent photo capability—it does well.

Though the M50 Mark II might not make you a YouTube star, it will help you get started.

Canon M50 Mk II: Is It Really That Bad? published first on http://droneseco.tumblr.com/

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slrlounge1 · 5 years

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Wedding Photography DSLR Prime Lenses – The Complete Guide | 2019 Update

Overview of Wedding Photography Equipment

With so many different styles of photography out there, wedding photography equipment can vastly differ from one photographer to another. For example, a natural light photographer may require a very different set of lenses and accessories than a photographer with more fashion and studio lighting influences. And then there’s the whole issue of DSLR versus mirrorless (native) lenses!

Regardless, we still can narrow down our list of recommendations to what we think the majority of wedding photographers should own. For this particular article, we will focus on prime lenses only, and other articles will get into zoom lenses, camera bodies, lighting, and accessories that a wedding (or “lifestyle portrait” type) photographer might need.

To view our complete guide to camera bodies for wedding photography, click HERE. To view our complete guide to zoom lenses for wedding photography, click HERE.

Define Your Style: Primes VS Zooms In WEdding PHotography

The very first thing we need to discuss is primes VS zooms. When it comes to wedding, event, and portrait photography this always seems to be the biggest issue that divides all the advice-givers out there. There are highly zealous people who passionately argue in favor of each!

In our opinion, it is simply a matter of preference, not a “better / worse” type thing. Some photographers find that they simply hate zooms and love primes, while others cannot live without a set of good f/2.8 zooms. Both systems are capable of delivering amazing results; it simply depends on your style as a photographer. (How much you like to move around, or be challenged to think creatively, or if you have a bad back or something lol?)

Therefore, we will make our recommendations from both perspectives, in separate guides, and this article will focus mainly on zoom lenses.

Before we get to individual lens recommendations though, we need to talk about your overall kit. Recommending individual lenses just doesn’t complete the whole story for a wedding photographer because there are just so many different angles to cover!

A Complete Kit – Zooms

The absolute safest bet for wedding photography is a set of 2-3 fast zooms and 1-2 fast primes. For example a 70-200 plus a 24-70 and/or a 16-35 zoom, and a 35mm, 50mm or 85mm prime thrown in for creative shooting and low-light. That right there is many wedding photographers’ go-to setup.

Some photographers prefer the 24-70 mid-range because it is versatile enough to shoot almost everything from details and venue shots to candids and formal portraits. Other wedding photographers feel that 24mm just isn’t wide enough for their style and they opt for a dedicated wide-angle zoom instead. (Sometimes these folks wind up never using their 24-70 again!)

Either way, the bottom line is that it takes about 3-4 total lenses to create a well-rounded “product” for a wedding. (Not even counting specialty lenses such as macro or fisheye lenses.)

If you rely heavily on your zooms, then it is usually better if they are f/2.8, sharp as heck wide open, and stabilized if possible. Oppositely, if you rely more on your primes and only rarely use your zooms, you might be able to get away with f/4 zooms, or older / third-party f/2.8 zooms. But we’ll get into budgeting in a bit.

A Complete Kit – Primes

Usually, the wedding photographers who love primes fall into two categories- Those who love 50mm only, and barely use any other lenses, …and those who prefer a combo of two or more primes, usually a 35mm and 85mm setup. You often find these photographers shooting with two camera bodies at once, with those two primes permanently attached to each camera.

In my professional experience, I prefer a combination of primes and zooms. I love 85mm primes and 28-35mm primes, but wider and longer angles are best covered with a zoom. (The “zoom with your feet” thing really works best between 28mm and 85mm!) To be frank, I just find that 50mm gets boring after a while so I love having an 85mm prime on one of my cameras, paired with something wider on a 2nd camera.

Of course, when I talk about “permanently” attaching certain lenses to your cameras, I just mean the one or two lenses that a wedding photographer would use most frequently. You still need to supplement your arsenal with a few other lenses, in my opinions. Shooting with a single lens just won’t produce a full and complete product. For example, a prime shooter might rely mainly on a single 50mm prime or a 35+85 combo, but also have a 14-24 and 70-200 in their bag as I mentioned above.

This article will focus mainly on prime lenses and specialty lenses for wedding photography. Our article on zoom lenses can be found HERE.

The Lenses That “Define Your Style”

Whatever your style, you should be able to identify that one special lens that you just adore, the lens that helps you define your style. This is the lens you should spend the most money on, and maybe even consider having a backup of!

For example, if you love 85mm as much as I do, you might want to consider one of the best 85mm’s that money can buy. Unfortunately, most of those “exotic” 85mm’s are massively heavy, and expensive! So, why not also buy the f/1.8 versions as a backup, or for shooting more active situations where you need very snappy autofocus?

The Nikon, Canon, and Sony 85mm f/1.8’s are all incredible lenses, and they are great at nailing focus consistently even in terrible light. Plus, they’re much lighter and smaller, if you’re in a candid situation where you want be unobtrusive or incognito.

Why am I bothering to say all of this? Because often times, beginners feel compelled to go straight to the absolute most expensive lenses, all across the board, before they even know what their style is. To these people buying anything less than the absolute best is just a waste in the long run. If money is no object to you then that’s great, you can start shopping now; the rest of us can keep reading and figure out which lenses to invest in first etc…

In my opinion, as a working professional buying an affordable lens in the short term just becomes a backup lens in the long run. Especially if it is that one special focal length you just love. Imagine if you accidentally drop or get a splash of water your favorite lens, mid-wedding, and it becomes non-functional. What do you do for the rest of the day? Do you just completely change your shooting style and not use that focal range at all? The difference would really, really show in your final delivery. So don’t be afraid to purchase a mid-price lens if it is all you can afford at first. Also, it is better to make a small investment in a lens that you wind up only using here and there than to mistakenly spend $2,000 on a lens that you hardly ever use once you define your style…

So, spend the most money on the lenses that define your style. Then “fill the gaps” with other lenses. Maybe this means you get a few of the high-end prime lenses that you love, and just use third-party lenses to cover a zoom range that you use less often.. Or a combination of both primes and zooms; whatever suits you!

Disclaimer #1: Of course this philosophy of prioritizing your budget mainly applies to those who are just starting out. As you achieve success as a professional, (hopefully!) you’re welcome to fill your camera bag with all the best lenses on the market. Reward yourself for all your hard work! We’re not here to encourage hard-working photographers that they should buy a set of low-budget lenses. However, when you’re just starting out, keep your overall budget in mind and try to define your style before making big investments. Renting lenses and 2nd shooting at weddings, for example, is a great way to try stuff out.

Disclaimer #2: We understand that even our “value” recommendations may seem a little pricey to some people. We simply believe that any aspiring professional wedding photographer should be able to invest this much in at least 2-3 lenses. If you’re on an even smaller shoestring budget, we simply find it difficult to recommend any lenses below a certain price point because they usually do have more significant drawbacks that can cause you to regret the purchase eventually.

Without any further ado, we will break down the must-have prime lenses for wedding photographers, in our usual Gear Guide categories- “Performance Champions” and “Value Winners”. Enjoy!

50mm Prime Lens Recommendations

All-Around Value Winner: Nikon 50mm f/1.8 G Canon 50mm f/1.8 STM Sony 50mm f/1.8 FE

From the aspiring pro wedding photographer who is on a budget to the veteran who is simply tired of lugging around a bag of heavy lenses, and even the f/2.8 zoom lover who barely ever uses primes, …there is no better news than Nikon’s decision to revamp their f/1.8 prime lineup in sharp, professional-grade new lenses. The $200 Nikon 50mm f/1.8 G is the most affordable of any new lens that we recommend to wedding photographers. This is not your uncle’s crappy “plastic fantastic” 50mm, it is a well-built, reliable piece of glass that even has a weather-sealing gasket at the lens mount!

I try not to publish “fightin’ words”, but from my tests this dirt-cheap beginner prime has equal or better sharpness than even our bokeh champion, the Canon 50mm f/1.2 L. Yeah, it’s that good. No, the DOF and colors aren’t as good; the Canon 50 L is still in a league of its own. I just want to make it clear that this Nikon 50mm is a force to be reckoned with if all you need is sharpness and solid quality.

Of course if you really love 50mm as a focal length and are working as a professional, you might as well just spend another ~$250 and get the Nikon 50mm f/1.4 or the Sigma 50mm f/1.4, since they too are relatively affordable at around $400-500. You should only budget so little money for a 50mm if you already know that your style lies more with a different focal range. Personally, I’m happy with the 50 1.8 G because I love to use 85mm and 28mm / 35mm a lot more. I really only get out my 50mm anymore for specific group shots that require that exact focal length.

Why are there no other “value winners” in this category, you might ask? Because quite honestly the other 50mm f/1.8 options out there are just not a good long-term investment for a professional wedding photographer. If you’re a Nikon shooter then this new 50mm 1.8 G should be your starting point, and if you’re a Canon shooter you should actually skip both the Canon 50mm f/1.8 and the f/1.4, and just get the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 instead. It is way sharper and stronger built than either of the affordable Canon 50mm’s. Yet the Sigma is so good that it belongs in our performance champion category! But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Performance Champion (Unlimited Budget) Canon 50mm f/1.2 L II Canon RF 50mm f/1.2

Unless you count the rare and elusive Canon 50mm f/1.0 L, these two lenses are the champions of all full-frame 50mm’s when it comes to achieving shallow DOF and creamy bokeh. The price tags, size and weight are pretty significant though, making their purchase a pretty big decision. They’re worth every penny, for sure, especialy the new mirrorless RF version. It destroys the other Canon 50mm’s with respect to sharpness and autofocus speed.

Keep in mind that the older, (DSLR, EF mount) Canon 50 1.2 L is indeed sluggish to focus, and accuracy can drop in low light, depending on which camera you shoot it with. A flagship 1-series Canon might not let you down, but with a Rebel or almost any camera with less AF power than the 5D mkIV, …you will struggle to nail focus consistently. Therefore, this (older) lens is best suited for general posed portraiture and only light photojournalism.

Performance Champion (Semi-affordable) Sigma 50mm f/1.4 Art

At just under $1000, (usually $950, but watch for a $100 rebate every now and then!) …this Sigma lens isn’t exactly a cheap 50mm, however it competes very well with all the other 50mm primes on the market, including the $4000 Zeiss Otus!

Performance Champion #3: Nikon 58mm f/1.4 G

Don’t be fooled by its lack of “f/1.2” written on the lens, this “normal” prime also packs some incredible, creamy bokeh.

Of course, if you already own the older Nikon 50mm f/1.4 G and you don’t use 50mm all the time, you can probably just keep on using that older lens. However, if you really love 50mm and want “that look” from your shallow depth shots, you should certainly consider upgrading.

Medium Wide Angle Prime Lens Recommendations

Between 24mm and 50mm there are a handful of prime lenses that many wedding photographers (especially the photojournalist types) love to use.

Again keep in mind that depending on your style, you might be much better off with a 24-70mm zoom instead, and you should rent/try out lenses before investing. Basically, the only main reason to buy a prime lens in this range is if you really want an aperture faster than f/2.8, otherwise, you’re better off with a zoom. These are some of the most commonly regretted purchases among newbie photographers, so proceed with caution!

35mm Performance Champion: Sigma 35mm f/1.4 EX DG Art

This was one of Sigma’s very first “Art” class lenses. It took the prime world by storm, surpassing its direct competition, the Canon 35mm f/1.4 L (mk1) and Nikon 35mm f/1.4 G, …and at almost half the price! While the name-brand 35mm’s are indeed also performance champions, this Sigma steals our recommendation for any new buyers.

If you already have a name-brand 35mm f/1.4, you probably won’t really need to upgrade. The Canon 35mm f/1.4 L mk2 is indeed an incredible lens, however, it’s also nearly $1,700.

35mm Value Winners: Nikon 35mm f/2 Canon 35mm f/2

Both of these lenses are relatively affordable, and good performers. They’re only f/2 though, making it tough for them to compete with the latest razor-sharp f/2.8 zooms. Unless of course you’re also looking to save weight – both of these 35mm’s are about the size and weight of a “nifty fifty”, making them a delight to shoot towards the end of a long wedding day.

These aren’t exactly “go-to” staple lenses though, for a long-term, heavy-duty workload. They’re certainly still a good intermediate buy, however, to indulge in your need for lighter and smaller lenses to use towards the end of a long wedding day, as I mentioned above, or simply to test the waters of this focal range and see how much you like it.

35mm Performance AND Value Champion: Canon 35mm IS f/2

An oddball, this lens is. While it costs almost as little as its un-stabilized, aging siblings from Canon and Nikon, it is amazingly sharp, built almost like an L lens, and stabilized! Therefore we feel that it deserves both value and performance recommendations. If you are a bit jittery and hate heavier lenses, give this one a try for sure.

28mm Performance AND Value Champion: Nikon 28mm f/1.8 G

Some prime-loving photojournalists feel that 35mm isn’t wide enough yet 24mm is a little too wide. Queue the 28mm primes! This new Nikon 28mm f/1.8 is a stunning performer. The image quality is superb, as good as any of its f/1.4 competition at 24mm or 35mm.

For those of you Nikon history buffs out there- why didn’t we bother listing the legendary Nikon 28mm f/1.4 in this category? After all it is indeed a “performance champion”… True, but unfortunately it has become such a collector’s item that it is highly overpriced compared to the alternatives. If you’re a Nikon die-hard fan you could consider it, otherwise you can find many better ways to spend ~$3,000!

F/2.8 Prime Champions: Canon 28mm f/2.8 IS Canon 24mm f/2.8 IS

These two lenses are great, but difficult to place in our guide- they are relatively expensive, for such modest specifications. They’re stabilized and sharp as heck though, so if you really like shooting natural light and hate the weight of a 24-70mm, but are OK with f/2.8, then do consider one of these.

Performance Champions: Nikon 24mm f/1.4 G Canon 24mm f/1.4 L mk2

While these two lenses aren’t much cheaper than an f/2.8 zoom that covers their range, they are at least a bit lighter and smaller. Also while the ability to create shallow DOF at 24mm isn’t that dramatic, the faster aperture does wonderful things for shooting hand-held in low-light, making them favorites among wedding photojournalists who prefer natural light.

This is one of the main “love/hate” relationship lenses for full-frame wedding photographers. Some find they never use it and just stick with their 24-70, or a 35 / 50mm prime, while others fall in love and the lens never leaves one of their cameras. Either way, if you love this focal length and you love shooting hand-held in natural light, these two lenses are awesome.

…Then again, if Sigma winds up making a 24mm f/1.4 “Art” that is nearly as good as their new 35mm f/1.4, these two name-brand 24mm’s could potentially get bumped out of their top spot. (It’s Sept. 2013 now; only rumors thus far about a Sigma 24mm)

Speaking of Sigma wide-angle primes; currently there are three older f/1.8 primes available, the 20mm, 24mm, and 28mm f/1.8. All of these lenses are decently sharp enough to be considered, though a little too pricey for a “value winner” title.

Ultra Wide Angle Prime Lens Recommendations

First I need to disclaim that ultra-wide angle prime lenses are pretty uncommon in wedding photography. To be honest most wedding shooters should probably just consider one of our ultra-wide zoom lens recommendations which we discuss HERE.

Why? Because most of the older primes in the 14-20mm range are totally eclipsed in performance by today’s zooms, and some of the more affordable zooms are almost as affordable as a comparable prime. So unless you randomly come across a great bargain at a garage sale or on Ebay, stick with the ultra-wide zoom recommendations.

Then again, all of these recommendations offer significant weight savings over most ultra-wide zooms, as well as decent cost savings.

Nikon 20mm f/2.8 Canon 20mm f/2.8

These two primes are tough to justify buying even for a prime lover, because they both cost even more than one of our favorite f/4 ultra-wide zooms, (the Tokina 17-35mm f/4) …and only a few hundred dollars short of a used f/2.8 ultra-wide zoom. Yet they are getting pretty old, and corner softness / field curvature can be a problem.

In fact compared to a zoom, the only reasons to buy one of these two lenses are like I mentioned- if you really care about keeping your total kit as light as possible, or if you “score” one for really cheap.

Tokina 17mm f/3.5 ATX Pro

A much better choice in my opinion than any other ultra-wide prime, the Tokina 17mm f/3.5 ATX Pro is a little-known gem. While most other ultra-wide primes either have bad image quality, fall-apart construction, or are cost-prohibitive, …this lens is decently sharp, rock-solid yet tiny, and extremely affordable! (The Nikon 18mm f/2.8 and Nikon 20mm f/2.8 are both $600+, while this lens is <$300) Additionally, it is compact, lightweight, and compatible with 77mm filters!

These lenses are a little hard to find, but create a “saved search” on Ebay or check KEH.com every now and then, and you should be able to score one for about $300 or less eventually.

Canon 14mm f/2.8 L Nikon 14mm f/2.8 D

These two lenses are for the low-light photojournalist who often works in tight quarters and wants something as wide as possible without having to pony up for the likes of the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 G or Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 L mk2, and/or have it take up a ton of space in their bag.

They are the classic “rent one to see if you like it, don’t just randomly buy them” type of lens

Fisheye Lenses

We can once again harken back to our landscape ultra-wide lens recommendation here: Fisheye lenses are such specialized items that you should only invest in them to the extent that you plan to use them. If you’re obsessed with the fisheye look, such as for dance floor action shots or other interesting angles, then maybe consider a Nikon 16mm f/2.8 Fisheye or a Canon 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye. However, the Sigma 15mm f/2.8 EX DG Fisheye is a great option too if you just use it as a “play around” type lens.

Personally, as a Nikon user, I’d rather just get the oldschool manual focus Nikon 16mm f/2.8 AIS Fisheye, because it’s built like a rock (no, literally!) and I can just jam it in the bottom of my rolling camera case and not worry about it.

Telephoto Prime Lens Recommendations

Since there are primes available from 85mm to 200mm, once again we’ll have to just throw all the “performance champions” and “value winners” together in a jumble. Here goes nothing!

All-Around Value Winners: Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM Nikon AF-S 85mm f/1.8 G

A great alternative to a 70-200 zoom for low-light candids and portraits, these two lenses are well-loved by any photographer who wants a portable, lightweight telephoto prime for portraits of 1-2 people.

They’re also killer for general low-light photojournalism, however at well under 100mm they just don’t fully replace a 70-200 zoom, especially in larger venues. You might need to get a cheaper 70-200 or another telephoto prime to supplement an 85mm prime.

Canon 100mm f/2

Another little-known gem, for those who tried and liked 85mm but want a little extra reach. Great sharpness and overall image quality, once again the only issue is that you need to remove chromatic aberrations in post-production. Also, like the Canon 85 1.8 it is a little less rugged than an L prime.

Sheer Performance Champions: Canon 85mm f/1.2

The king(s) of bokeh, when it comes to 85mm. While f/1.2 primes are usually a little more sluggish than their f/1.4 and f/1.8 alternatives, anyone who shoots portraits and weddings knows that there are still times when it’s worth it to nail focus and achieve a gorgeously blurred background.

Just be sure you’re well-practiced at nailing focus at f/1.2 before jumping into an action-packed wedding day. Nailing focus at any aperture faster than f/4 isn’t easy, but f/1.2 and 85mm are a whole new level of shallow DOF. The older Canon 85mm f/1.2 L II is a bit of a slug to focus, honestly, however the new mirrorless RF 85mm f/1.2 L ought to be much snappier if it is anything like its RF 50mm f/1.2 sibling.

Sigma 85mm f/1.4 Art Nikon AF-S 85mm f/1.4 G

These two 85mm lenses are also ready to deliver beautiful bokeh and incredible sharpness, despite their 2/3 EV smaller aperture.

As with any fast prime, you should remember to use chromatic aberration removal in post-production, but other than that the image quality of both lenses is world-class. Both are also well-built. (OK, let’s be honest, the Sigma is a monster!)

Nikon AF-S 105mm f/1.4E ED

Nikon’s fast-aperture telephoto portrait champion is this beast, the 105mm f/1.4E. It is everything that an 85mm f/1.4 could offer, and then some. If you’re looking to really “kill” a background with bokeh, or shoot telephoto candids from a distance in low light, this lens offers more reliable autofocus than any Nikon-mount ~105mm alternative.

Canon 135mm f/2 L

A truly legendary lens among Canon photographers, you just cannot go wrong with this lens if you are looking for an alternative to all the hefty 70-200mm’s. Although it lacks IS stabilization, the added stop of light and shallower DOF is worth it!

Sigma 150mm f/2.8 OS Macro EX DG

While an 85mm or 100mm lens is not “long” enough to fully replace a 70-200mm zoom, this Sigma 150mm f/2.8 OS Macro is close enough to do the job quite well. (Especially if you have a 30-50-megapixel camera, and use 1.2x or 1.5x crop mode for general candid work.)

This lens includes stabilization, which most 105mm’s and 135mm’s do not, and it is also a 1:1 macro lens! A triple threat for any portrait/candid/event photographer who wants a prime in this focal range.

Exotic Performance Champions: Canon 200mm f/2 L IS Nikon 200mm f/2 VR

These two lenses, although some would argue are overkill for weddings and lifestyle type portraits, seem to be the “Rolex” of telephoto bokeh champions.

Bottom line, these two lenses are both flawlessly sharp, incredibly snappy to focus, and offer a truly unique shooting experience.

Of course, any successful wedding photographers could do just fine with a 70-200mmm f/2.8, but that’s not the point. These lenses are what camera geeks buy instead of a Harley when they turn 45.

Sony Prime Lenses For Wedding Photography

Over the last 5 years, Sony’s full-frame mirrorless system has gone from having almost no native lenses, to a complete and formidable arsenal of both zooms and primes. With the release of the newest GM (that’s Sony’s label for their best stuff) 135mm f/1.8, a Sony prime shooter has plenty of incredible options to choose from for both wedding and portrait photography.

Sony FE 24mm f/1.4 GM

Quite simply, this is the best 24mm around. We don’t know how they did it, but Sony managed to create a 24mm f/1.4 prime with incredible image quality from corner to corner, even wide open at f/1.4 or f/2. It’s also quite lightweight and portable, and offers an aperture ring that can be de-clicked for video use, plus a customizable Fn button.

Sony SONNAR T* FE 55mm f/1.8 ZA

This relatively compact, modest aperture prime is one of the most impressive performers that Sony has produced in its range. Incredibly sharp, it offers not just portability for those long 12+ hour wedding days, but also, its diminutive size allows the photographer to shoot in a more relaxed, casual atmosphere compared to sticking a giant 24-70mm or 70-200mm in everybody’s face. In short, this lens represents everything that is good about being a prime shooter!

Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM

As its GM designation indicates, this lens is incredibly sharp, relatively snappy to focus, and built solidly. If you’re looking for a workhorse 85mm prime that you can mount natively on your full-frame Sony (FE) body, this is a lens that can deliver the goods.

Sony FE 135mm f/1.8 GM

If you’re looking for extreme bokeh, look no further (pun intended?) than a 135mm f/1.8 prime, such as the Sony 135mm f/1.8 GM. Like its DSLR competitor the Sigma 135mm f/1.8, the Sony 135mm FE GM will deliver gorgeously shallow depth, while offering a longer subject distance which actually helps you keep a subject’s face in focus more, compared to the same framing with a 50mm f/1.2 or 85mm f/1.4. The Sony offers a high-speed, accurate AF motor system, as well as a physical aperture ring that can be de-clicked for smooth video shooting.

Manual-Focus Prime Lenses For Wedding Photography

While I personally have a hard time recommending manual focus lenses for use in wedding photography due to the active nature of weddings, there are some photographers out there who use manual lenses with great success.

The most popular manual focus primes are the classic focal ranges- 35mm, 50mm, or 85mm. Nikon, Zeiss, and Rokinon are the most common players here with Nikon and Zeiss offering beautiful image quality and incredibly robust lens construction, while Rokinon (and Bower and Samyang) offer great image quality too, but with build quality that may not last as long as a Zeiss lens.

Of course, for those of you who truly love the subtle aesthetics of bokeh and flare, certain Leica lenses seem to be a holy grail among lenses with “character”. Be prepared to pay a pretty penny for the best lenses, though.

My personal favorites? Although I would rarely ever use them at a wedding, I love the Nikon 35mm f/1.4 AIS, The Nikon 50mm f/1.2 AIS, and the Zeiss ZF 85mm f/1.4. But again, keep in mind that diving into this world is only advisable for the experienced shooter who knows how to manually focus quickly and accurately.

One benefit of modern mirrorless cameras is that you can quickly magnify the view around your selected focus point, making it truly easy to nail focus in any relatively static situation. Some mirrorless cameras will even auto-magnify to 100% whenever they detect that the focus ring is being turned!

Crop-Sensor Prime Lens Recommendations For Wedding Photography

What if you shoot with a crop sensor camera? There are both a handful of great APS-C and Micro Four Thirds dedicated prime lenses, plus of course with most systems you can also just use full-frame prime lenses too.

For this reason, we’ll restrict our recommendations to those wider and medium focal lengths, which allow you to achieve a focal length equivalent that isn’t easily achieved using a full-frame lens on a crop-sensor.

Sigma 16mm f/1.4 DC Contemporary Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC Contemporary (Also in Sigma Art form) Canon EF-M 22mm f/2 STM Canon EF-M 32mm f/1.4 STM Fuji 16mm XF f/1.4 WR Fuji 23mm XF f/1.4 R

Specialty Lens Recommendations For Wedding Photography

Wedding photographers are a versatile bunch. At the beginning of a wedding day in a dimly lit hotel room, they can go from shooting candid group photos to macro close-up photos of wedding rings and other jewelry within a matter of seconds. This begs the question- should you buy a dedicated macro lens, or just use your 24-70 or your favorite prime?

That is really a personal decision, simply based on how much you love doing macro photos. But in our experience, most non-macro lenses are just quite soft when shooting at extremely close distances. You can try using a 50mm prime stopped down to f/2.8, and some 50mm’s can focus really close, but others cannot, and none have nearly as much “magnification” as a dedicated macro lens.

Macro Lenses – Value Winners: Tamron 90mm f/2.8 VC Macro Tokina 100mm f/2.8 Macro Sigma 105mm f/2.8 OS Macro

If you really like doing high-quality wedding ring shots, you’re in luck- You don’t really need to break the bank if all you want is something that is super-sharp and focuses extremely close-up.

Any of these three lenses will work amazingly well, especially if you plan to use manual focus and shoot from a tripod, or use flash. (We recommend manual focusing for macro shots anyways, but if you really prefer to hand-hold and use autofocus for your macro shots, you might consider a lens with stabilization. See below)

(Yes, you can also use these lenses at normal distances for general photography, too, especially the Tamron and Sigma stabilized lenses.)

Macro Lens – Performance Champions: Canon 100mm L f/2.8 IS Macro Nikon 105mm f/2.8 VR Macro Sony FE 90mm f/2.8 Macro G OSS

This set of lenses is a might be a bit pricey for a wedding photographer, if you only ever use them for macro shots. However, at ~100mm and with both stabilization and great autofocus, they all make great portrait lenses, too!

So, if for example you primarily shoot telephoto on a zoom such as a 70-200mm, but you’re looking for a prime lens that can do double-duty as both a macro and a lightweight portrait lens for whenever your arm gets tired of hoisting the big 2.8 zoom, one of these macro lenses will be an amazing tool in your kit.

Tilt-Shift Lenses

Tilt-shift lenses were designed to correct perspective and improve depth of field, however, many portrait and wedding photographers dabble in using them to significantly alter depth and perspective in, well, very weird ways. It’s a difficult skill to perfect, and should only be used sparingly in our opinion, but it’s still a pretty cool effect Canon and Nikon both make 24mm, 45mm, and 85mm tilt-shift lenses, and Rokinon now makes a 24mm tilt-shift that is a great affordable option, especially considering the specialized nature of these lenses and the fact that you’ll probably only use it once or twice per job.

Conclusion & Additional Reading

Remember, your 1-2 favorite prime lenses are only part of a wedding photographer’s system! Depending on your style, you may want to supplement the wide and/or long end of your range with a zoom or two. The important thing is to practice a lot and define your style before making any major investments… If you’re just starting out, we highly recommend renting a bunch of different lenses and finding opportunities to 2nd shoot, or just get out and do some general practice on your own!

Here’s the other gear guides we have published for wedding photographers:

Our complete guide to wedding photography DSLR bodies Complete guide to wedding photography zoom lenses

Click HERE to return to the main collection of photography equipment recommendations!

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wristwatchjournal · 4 years

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Hands-On: Seiko Lukia Women’s Automatic Watches Make World Debut In 2020

For 2020, Seiko introduces its long-standing JDM (Japanese domestic market) Lukia women’s watch collection as a globally available product — though with a new form. Today, aBlogtoWatch looks at the Seiko Lukia references SPB133 (white on white strap), SPB135 (red on red strap), SPB137 (blue on blue strap), SPB138 (two-tone on green strap), and the SPB140 (gold-tone on purple strap). There are more versions available, such as those with and without diamond decoration on the bezels. While in Japan, the Seiko Lukia timepiece collection has ranged from entry-level models to those squarely in the luxury space, the 2020 Seiko Lukia women’s watches available in the United States and other parts of the world are certainly skewed toward the luxury segment.

Beautiful and practical, Lukia Collection watches are ideal for women seeking a decorative daily wear — powered by an in-house-made automatic movement. There are still very few watches of this type, at this price range, that are available in any mainstream manner. That makes the Seiko Lukia part of a still-rare breed, and the watch industry has high hopes that this segment will grow. What segment is that, exactly? Good question. For years now, the watch industry has faced market growth stagnation with men’s mechanical watch products. While there are still plenty of men’s luxury timepiece markets and price points still to exploit, it would be wrong to suggest that the luxury watch industry didn’t entirely over-saturate most markets with far more products than consumers are willing (or able) to purchase. Thus, the dream is that at least some of the success of selling higher-end mechanical watches to men could be replicated in the women’s market.

While women can covet a timepiece as much as men can, the psychology of women wodesiring and purchase a watch has proven to be a different enough animal that the same techniques used to get men excited about watches don’t always work for women. The result has been that women wearers of luxury watches typically spend less than men per watch and also tend to be interested in a far narrower breadth of brands. A big reason for this is that unlike the relatively few wearable luxury accessory categories men can wear in a socially acceptable manner, women have far more options, including product categories such as handbags, many forms of jewelry, clothing, shoes, makeup, and more. Men are usually limited to perhaps shoes, sometimes a wallet, clothing, and their watches. Thus, interest in luxury accessories for men is much more consolidated in the watch category than it is for women.

Not taking into consideration important factors such as marketing and advertising, the watch industry has regularly asked the question, “What does a woman want in a luxury timepiece if she is interested in the segment beyond the most known, popular brands such as Rolex, Cartier, and Chanel?” Some women prefer the practicality of quartz watches, and others appreciate the romance and timelessness of mechanical watches. Some women actually prefer wearing noticeably men’s watches on their wrists, and other women demand original designs that are more than just sized-down, dressed-up men’s watches. Where do these roughly $1,300 Seiko Lukia watches fit in the mix?

At first glance, the Lukia watches benefit from not looking like any of Seiko’s popular men’s watches. The cases and dials are original, even if they embody a series of “design codes” that seasoned timepiece fans will recognize from other Seiko products. The round cases (in steel, with some of them being coated in gold tone) have curved delicate feminine lugs, and a 12-sided angular bezel that plays nicely with the geometric designs of the dial and hour markers. While these watches are elegant in their coloring (inspired by various places in the Ginza, a ritzy shopping district in Tokyo), they are actually quite sporty in their durability featuring a sapphire crystal and 100 meters of water resistance for the case.

The cases are each 34.8mm-wide, which is about as large as you’d want to go for a watch that is still inherently feminine in its proportions. The watch is relatively thin, but given the mechanical automatic movement on the inside, it isn’t going to be as thin as Seiko’s most svelte quartz-based timepiece. On the average woman’s wrist, this nearly 35mm-wide case size is large enough to be bold, but not so large as to be visually overpowering or mistaken for something masculine.

Seiko did a beautiful job with the dials of the SPB1XX Lukia watches, which are all mother-of-pearl. The base mother-of-pearl dial is printed on, giving the dials the look of complex artistic marquetry (whose geometry, along with diamond-set hour markers) and is what I earlier referred to as being harmonious with the case design. It is very interesting to see how the printed (and colored) mother-of-pearl Lukia watches look in red, white, blue, gold, and pink. They look very attractive in person, in my opinion.

Eight of the 12-hour markers are applied with a small set diamond. One hour marker is missing to make room for a date window, and the other three hour markers are applied and stylized Roman numerals. With the angular, strong hands, the Lukia faces have an interesting mixture of bold (almost masculine) lines contrasted with colors, textures, and decoration that feel inherently feminine. Legibility is strong, and the powerful look of the colored mother-of-pearl helps the watches to be eye-catching and attractive — something all high-end watches should be.

Attached to the cases are very nice crocodile straps that use a favorite technique of mine that hides and of the stitching. I believe this is called a “rolled edge” technique and pulls the crocodile skin over the side edges of the strap and attaches it to the padding on the underside of the strap. I really can’t see anyone being disappointed by these straps, but a bracelet option would have been nice. I will, however, guess that not everyone wants the fold-over locking deployant clasps that are attached. While these deployants help prolong the life of the strap (and retailers believe consumers feel they are more high-end and thus more easily command higher prices), these deployant clasps are inherently bulky and can add unnecessary fuss to the strap-wearing experience. I also lament that, in California, none of the crocodile straps will be available. The state I live in recently passed a law outlawing the sale of many animal skins in order to reduce the market for illegally sourced exotic skins. Given that alligators and crocodiles are mostly farmed and, to my knowledge, not hunted in nature, I personally don’t understand the wide breadth of the law. I also am curious what straps these Lukia watches will have on them for those pieces that are sold in California’s large timepiece market.

Inside the Seiko Lukia watches is the in-house-made Seiko caliber 6R35 automatic movement, which is also visible through a sapphire crystal window on the rear of the case. The mechanical movement operates at 3Hz (21,600 bph) and has a longish power reserve of 70 hours. This is a decent-grade mechanical movement that will serve its wearer well at this price point. I am actually not very familiar with women’s automatic Seiko timepieces, so I am not sure of the full breadth of movement choices Seiko offers in this smaller diameter size. While some Swiss Made automatic movements inside women’s watches can be better decorated and slimmer, I don’t think most of them would be able to compete with Seiko in terms of pricing.

The Seiko of 2020 and beyond is less and less about being a discount alternative to luxury Swiss watches given that Seiko is upping its value propositions (and prices) over time. That said, the vast majority of Seiko watches still offer more bang for your buck than most comparable Swiss-made watches. Popular brands such as Rolex, Omega, TAG Heuer, Chanel, Hermes, Cartier, and others that produce mechanical (or otherwise) women’s watches offer nothing or very little at this price point. Seiko is increasingly able to hold its own in a fight, which is why even if pricing isn’t as aggressive as some people remember it, these days the brand is making very clear moves to give consumers a lot more for their money.

The Seiko Lukia automatic watches for 2020 will, for many women (outside of Japan), be the first time they have been romanced by a decorative, mechanical watch from the historic company. Having seen similar pieces sold in Japan-only, I know how popular these “daily decorative” women’s timepieces can be in the market. Seiko will have to take some steps toward educating a more global women’s audience about why mechanical timepieces are interesting, but once they do, I think there is a lot to love (as well as appreciable value) in the Seiko Lukia automatic SPB133, SPB135, SPB137, SPB138, and SPB140 (along with the rest of the collection’s SKUs). Price for the Seiko Lukia watches (without diamonds on the bezel but rather only on the dial) ranges from $1,300 – $1,400 USD, depending on the steel case tone. Learn more at the Seiko website here.

The post Hands-On: Seiko Lukia Women’s Automatic Watches Make World Debut In 2020 appeared first on Wristwatch Journal.

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cosmotographer · 4 years

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Introduction

In this review, we will be reviewing the [eafl id=”5272″ name=”Leica Summicron-M 35mm f/2 ASPH (11879)” text=”Leica Summicron 35mm f/2 ASPH”] as one of my most in-depth reviews. I chose this lens because if I had to choose just one lens out of the plethora of lenses in the history of the Leica M mount, it would be the first aspherical version of the 35mm f/2 of the legendary Summicron line of lenses. It’s no surprise that the 35mm focal length is the most versatile lens, but on a Leica rangefinder, it pretty much defines the whole M mount system. It is, in my personal opinion, Leica’s best lens.

We’ll go over why.

The Summicron 35mm

You could say the 35mm focal length is one of the most popular focal lengths in any photographer’s bag, typical alongside the “nifty-fifty” 50mm. Doesn’t matter if you shoot Canon, Nikon, Sony or Olympus, these are the two most popular (and most recommended) focal lengths for any manufacturer. However, not all lenses are the same.

The Summicron comes in on its own like the Apple iPhone – Leica’s only comparative competitor is their previous model. This lens is legendary in its own right as it simply defines what Leica lenses are known for. Compact, sharp as hell, lightweight (relatively speaking) and famous ergonomics that is an obvious pairing for any Leica M rangefinder camera. As other phone manufacturers compare their latest flagship to the ubiquitous iPhone, the Summicron is the benchmark where all other lenses are judged by.

Leica’s Summicron is the Porsche 911 of the lens world.

This Review

When I was originally shopping around for this lens, particularly this aspherical version manufactured during 1990s until the mid 2000s, it was surprisingly difficult to find decent reviews on the second latest lens among the Summicron family. This is shocking because why is such a legendary lens so hard to find any decent reviews?

I think there are a few reasons for this.

The lens is so good that there is little to be said about it. This happens more often than not for any latest variation of any lens. Look at the [eafl id=”5282″ name=”Voigtlander Nokton 35mm f/1.4 MC II” text=”Voigtlander Nokton 35mm f/1.4 MC II”] – you’ll be hard pressed to find more than a handful of reviews on it.

The lens is overshadowed by its latest version, the [eafl id=”5267″ name=”Leica Summicron-M 35mm f/2 ASPH II” text=”ASPH II”] (11673), but ironically also suffers from the first point above.

I have a lot of love for this lens and since passion make for an interesting review, I will break down how this lens competes in 2020 in a market saturated with other attractive propositions from other manufacturers, but convince you why the Summicron is my favorite.

Compact Power | Summicron-M 35mm f/2 ASPH

Build and Design

The 35mm of Leica’s Summicron line of lenses have surprisingly have not changed much in terms of their raison d’être: keep it small, make sure that it’s sharp, and the ergonomics must be on point. With these values that date back all the way back when the first M mount was first conceived (almost 75 years ago), this ASPH version continues to carry that legacy as it remained the king of compact 35mm with an f/2 aperture for decades.

History

The double gauss formula that dates back to the 1950s haven’t changed since the ASPH, but with the adaptation of computers and improvements with new manufacturing processes, the aspherical was born to prepare for the future that would follow after the Leica M6. The made in Germany, hand-made components paired with new production methods were further improved, albeit more complicated due to the addition of an aspherical element among its seven elements and five groups. The body is beautifully machined from a solid block of aluminum, as the brass internal helicoid help maintain its smooth focusing while keeping the overall body durable from normal wear and tear. Nothing feels cheap or flimsy here, but for almost $2,000 in today’s used market, it better not be.

Weight: 255g

Minimum Focus Distance (MFD): 0.7m

Build: Aluminum and Brass

Incredible Micro-Contrast | Leica M10 | f/2.0 / 1/4000 / ISO 200

No Compromise

If you’ve never handled this lens before (or any Leica lens for that matter) I highly recommend you hold one in your hands and try to maintain a poker face. I say this because every time I let someone handle one of these lenses for the first time, they would react with have one or more of the following:

“Holy shit, that’s heavy!”

“Wow, that’s solid!”

“I could kill someone with this!”

These lenses are not your typical plastic shells with bits of metal inside that you would typically get from other manufacturer’s top line of lenses. No, that’s not what you’ll find here. Leica lenses are manufactured at such incredibly high standards, that their expensive price tags almost seemed justified due to the amount of labor involved and how well made they are. These hand-made pieces of aluminum, brass and glass were built to outlive you, your car, your kids and your grandchildren. It’s not surprising that these things were built to last and passed down to your future generation or someone’s attic find for their next garage sale.

@cosmotographer

From the Hood

If I had to find one major gripe about this lens is the lens hood.

My God is the lens hood crap.

I don’t know what the Germans were thinking when they designed the plastic hood back in the ’90s, but it’s a finicky thing. Brand new, they’re great as the two tiny metal prongs that attach to the outer rim by the front element is sturdy, which can only be attached and removed pinching two buttons on the side with your fingers. Seemed like a solid solution at first.

However…

If either the metal prongs on the lens plastic hood or if the metal rim of the lens show any type of wear, and I’m talking minuscule amount of wear like a dull sheen on the attachment points, it’s only a matter of time for that lens hood to pop off and ghost on you like a bad Tinder date. To make matters worst, this over-engineered and under-developed lens hood will cost you over $100 to replace. That’s an expensive Tinder date that just walked out on you.

To help fellow readers and sad Leica owners whom used Google to search for a replacement hood, let me help you out:

Leica Lens Hood for the 11879 Summicron (12526): Link

Leica Hood Cap for the Lens Hood: Good Luck

Leica E39 Front Lens Cap (14038): Link

I’ve gone through two copies of this lens within a year and both lens hoods were promptly taken off and stored away in their leatherette lens cases for storage into forever world. Future investments I can sell one day and buy myself an island or something. Fortunately, the lens does an effective job of suppressing flares without the lens hood on.

Image Quality

Ocean City | Leica M9 | f/8 / 1/3000 / ISO 160

It’s not out of the ordinary to say that the image quality you get from Leica lenses in general, especially their Summicrons, are nothing short of extraordinary and the [eafl id=”5272″ name=”Leica Summicron-M 35mm f/2 ASPH (11879)” text=”ASPH I”] is no exception. If you’ve ever used any of the older variations of this lens, you can tell that Leica was clearly learning from the past to get to where they are now.

Micro-Contrast is Real

The details are sharp with high contrast, with crisp details at the edges around your subject with dramatic fall-off wide open at f/2.0. The lens get even sharper stopped down at f/4.0, but f/5.6 is just the sweet spot to hit that perfect balance. It’s very easy to see very high levels of micro-contrast at the edges of your subject, exhibiting the “Leica look” due to high levels of fidelity and tonality that you can only get with these lenses paired with Leica’s proprietary sensor.

This is what it means to be an exceptional lens.

Classical and Modern | Leica M10 | f/2.0 / 1/180 / ISO 200

Note about Adapting Lenses: I can tell you first hand that you will not get the same rendering adapting M mount lenses to other sensors like the Sony A7 series. The addition of the filter stack (which Leica sensors lack) and without its processing, you won’t get the same look. Been there. Seen that.

An example of the “Leica Look” | Leica M10 | f/2.0 / 1/4000 / ISO 200

Another thing that I find interesting is how flat the field looks at wide open aperture. The images look sharp and while the corners still show a hint of vignetting and softness, it’s very impressive how the lens renders so well in such a small body.

However, the lens is not perfect as the lens can suffer a bit of coma on the corners, but this is immaterial and you won’t notice it in practical situations. Not a big deal, but just shows that the Summicron is still a piece of machinery made by mortals.

User Experience

In my opinion, this is the most important aspect of the lens as it’s primarily one of the main reasons why anyone shoots with a Leica: the overall user experience.

If you ever want to shoot an “ideal” Leica setup, pair any Leica rangefinder and this Summicron (or any 35mm Summicron for that matter). The solid weight in your hands with this compact lens, allow the focus tab to sit close to the body of the camera.

This is really close to perfect.

I can’t explain what it is, but when you curl left index finger and adjust the focus tab between your first and second knuckle.

The palm of your left hand rests under the base of the body while your right hand holds the right side of the body.

You can feel the smooth throws as you move the focus lever as you line up your rangefinder patch.

Everything just feels right.

Balance of classical and modern

Kitty

Micro-Contrast in the shadows

Inspiring Combo

It feels welcoming – inspiring even. It’s as if you’re holding a piece of art from the company that was responsible for famous black and white photos that you saw in your history books. You’ll know once you hold one in your hands.

The hefty weight of the lens sits comfortably, far back towards the body, therefore not throwing off the weight distribution of the body. The short overall length of the lens doesn’t invade your view inside the optical viewfinder, even with the hood on, as you can clearly see the 35mm framelines.

The focus feels buttery smooth. Like a freshly oiled gear moving freely, but enough resistance like stirring a bucket of water. The Leica [eafl id=”5270″ name=”Leica Summilux-M 35mm f/1.4 ASPH FLE” text=”Summilux 35mm FLE”] (11663) with its floating lens element can’t touch the focus throws on the Summicron as it feels inconsistent and heavy in comparison.

The aperture clicks into place with positive detents as your turn them between your left thumb and index finger, feeling the finely machined ribbed pattern at the front of the barrel. The resistance between each aperture click feels perfect, just enough so that you won’t accidentally bump your aperture. It doesn’t feel as tight as your typical M-Mount Zeiss lenses, but it’s good enough.

With this combination between the lens and a compact body like the [eafl id=”5266″ name=”Leica M10″ text=”Leica M10″] (or film M6 and M7), you have a one lens, one body solution. A lot of people call their Summicron 35mm as their “body cap”, meaning it’s pretty much stuck on their camera most of the time and you can clearly see why. If you’ve mastered focusing quickly at f/2.0, the short throws from this lens will make you feel like a master as there is very little overrun (meaning you won’t slip past your focus from overdriving the focus throw) thanks to its perfect resistance.

Conclusion

The Summicron 35mm ASPH is a superlative lens that does everything well, but not the best at any one category. In 2020, there are a plethora of lenses you can choose from within this focal length that are sharper, cheaper, lighter and a better lens hood. However, as someone who had been around the block a few times, I can assure you that the Summicron just hits all the right notes. There really isn’t any other lens out there that offers the balance and performance you get from this lens. Besides, how often do you hear people say, “one day I’ll get a Summicron”? Trust me, it’s worth getting and I recommend you save up for one because this is the one lens where all lenses, regardless of manufacturer, are still striving to match.

If you’ve enjoyed this review and plan on making a purchase, please help out the site by using the affiliate links below as that helps the site to maintain its good relationship with its WordPress overlords and buy the writer a cup of coffee.

[eafl id=”5272″ name=”Leica Summicron-M 35mm f/2 ASPH (11879)” text=”Leica Summicron 35mm ASPH I”]

Review: Leica Summicron-M 35mm f/2 ASPH (11879) – Balanced Perfection Introduction In this review, we will be reviewing the as one of my most in-depth reviews. I chose this lens because if I had to choose just one lens out of the plethora of lenses in the history of the Leica M mount, it would be the first aspherical version of the 35mm f/2 of the legendary Summicron line of lenses.

#leica #11879 #35mm #asph #f/2 #review #summicron

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raystart · 7 years

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Louise Fili

New York–based graphic artist Louise Fili is as passionate about letters, typefaces, and historic signage as she is about food, Italian culture, and savoring life’s simple pleasures.

The recipient of lifetime achievement awards from AIGA (2014) and the Type Directors Club (2015) – just the pinnacle of an awards mountain – Fili is the consummate designer’s designer. She has created unforgettable corporate signatures (the Tiffany & Co. monogram, the Paperless Post stamp), restaurant identities (Artisanal, Mermaid Inn, Pearl Oyster Bar), and food and wine packaging (Tate’s Bake Shop, Sarabeth’s); published a dozen prestigious design books, many with her husband, Steve Keller; and has so far been commissioned to design two USPS postage stamps, the most recent of which, an ode to skywriting, debuted in January.

The New Jersey–born Italian-American began her career as a senior designer for Herb Lubalin, spent 11 years at Pantheon Books quietly revolutionizing the art of book design, and then flew solo with the launch of her design studio, Louise Fili Ltd., in 1989.

Ninety Nine U joined Fili for lunch at Via Carota in the West Village, whose logo she created for its launch in 2015, to talk about why your studio’s name matters, the reason your client’s person in charge must be present at all meetings, and what happens when you serve gelato at your studio presentations.

Europe, and Italy in particular, seems to be an endless source of inspiration to you. When did you first realize you had such an affinity for Italian culture? Was it on a trip?

Yes. My parents were both born there, and they rarely spoke Italian at home except to tell secrets in front of us at the dinner table. My father was always talking about going back, and when I was 16 I went with my parents to my father’s hometown in Sicily. But we went all over the mainland, and I had an epiphany. That was the same summer that I sent away for a pen I saw advertised in the back of The New Yorker. It said, “You can learn to write in a beautiful italic hand.” So I sent away for that pen, and I taught myself calligraphy. The first thing I remember seeing when I arrived in Milan was this billboard for Baci Perugina, and that’s all it said on it. But the type and illustration were so beautiful and so simple, unlike any kind of advertising I’d ever seen before. And that was my three-way epiphany: when I fell in love with food, type, and Italy all at once.

Do you go back a lot?

I do; I’m always finding excuses to go. My husband and I teach in a master’s workshop program in Rome every summer. And I’m always working on some kind of book project that takes me there. I just finished revising a guidebook to artisan shops in Florence. This is actually the third time I’ve revised it, because all the shops

keep changing. I never really thought of myself as a writer before, but whatever it took to get me over there and taste-test gelato and interview shopkeepers in Italian. It was really fun. And then I’ve also been doing these books on signage, because I’m really passionate about that, and have been forever, for as long as I’ve been interested in graphic design.

Tell me about the signage series.

It started out with 35mm slides, and point-and-shoot snapshots, and finally digital. All these images I was shooting were just for my own reference and enjoyment, and I had them in little binders in my office on a dedicated shelf, arranged by city. When the technology was finally good enough for me to consider using these for reproduction, that’s also when I realized all the signs were starting to disappear. Every summer I would take my students in the Rome program to see all my favorite signs, and there would be one or two missing. Every year it was more and more. So I really wanted to record all of the signage before it was gone forever.

It started with the book on Italian signage, and then I decided to do one on Paris signage, which I thought would be so much easier because it’s only one city, but it really wasn’t. Usually I’ll take two or three trips to do a whole book, so I have to make maps of the different neighborhoods with all the signs mapped out, and I spend a lot of time on Google Street View, making sure that the signs are still there and looking for others that I didn’t know about before. The next book will be Barcelona; that’s coming out in September. Barcelona has incredible modernista signage that is all starting to disappear too. I also did a whole chapter on monograms, because a lot of the buildings in one particular neighborhood were all built in the early 1900s, and every owner wanted to have his name on the building.

Even though the first two books did very well, for the Paris book they went back for a reprint, like, one week after it was published, which is pretty unusual. At that same time, I said “Let’s do Barcelona next.” Every publisher these days is very cautious, so they still hadn’t given me the okay by the time I was leaving on my trip, but I just decided I had to go, no matter what. I’m glad I did.

Nearly every logo of yours conveys to the customer that the restaurant or company or product is special and worthy of your attention. I remember the first time I saw the box for Late July crackers at Whole Foods, I was smitten even though I’d never tried one. And I experienced something similar the first time I went to Artisanal and saw that sign. How do you explain that power?

I’ve always told my students that a logo is a typographic portrait. You have to meet the person or the business and speak with them and really understand them, and then translate that into a typographic portrait. And that’s more than just setting the word in font and calling it a logo. With my logos, I spend a lot of time just sketching and developing the typography to represent the whole integrity of the brand. Ninety-nine percent of the time it requires hand-lettering, but that’s what I love to do. That is an important part of the process: to communicate all the nuances of what we’re trying to say. So I’m glad I ended up doing food packaging, because it’s something that always interested me.

The before-and-after page on your site is fascinating.

Yeah, it’s really good for potential clients, because when they come to me for a rebrand, they’re the first to say “My logo is terrible,” but then they are always very nervous about making a change. They’re afraid of losing their customer base or that it’s going to represent them incorrectly. So when I show them the before and after, they’re like, Oh. It’s like taking a magic wand and just making everything look better.

Depending on how articulate they are, I usually ask them about 15 or 20 questions about their business. I start with “Have you trademarked this name?” It’s a very important question, especially in restaurants. You’d be amazed. The only time I didn’t ask that question was when I was working with a very highly regarded restaurateur. I thought it would be insulting for me to ask, but sure enough, we did the logo and then they found out that they couldn’t get the name.

Some of the makeovers are really subtle.

Some of them need it more than others. But they’re all nervous about it, and that’s why I like working with smaller businesses; I like having a more personal relationship with my clients. Like with Sarabeth. I sat down with her and her husband. They had been making their jam for 25 years, and I can understand why she was nervous about it. What I always tell someone is, “You can change a lot, as long as you maintain one or two key elements.” In her case, we kept the same jar, because everybody knows her by her jar. But she was using a generic mason jar, so we changed the embossing on the top so instead of saying “Mason” it said “Sarabeth.”

And we kept the type, did the label in the same oval, and kept her name in upper and lowercase, which I felt was important. Then we just refined everything else, and it made a huge difference. Even the paper stock. The first time I looked at it I thought, This paper stock looks so dingy. So I found the brightest, most opaque white paper stock I could, and that alone made a huge difference. What ended up happening in her case is that people would still go and reach for the same jar in the supermarket, and they might not have even noticed there was a change in the design. But they suddenly had a higher regard for the product, and they didn’t mind paying $9.99 for it.

What happens if you get negative feedback from a client?

Well, the first question I ask, even before we discuss the trademark thing or even have a meeting is “Who are the decision makers?” They have to be at the meeting. If the big decision maker is too busy to have a meeting with me, then I’m too busy too, and I won’t do it. It cannot end well otherwise. There’s nothing worse than someone trying to second-guess their boss. I don’t want there to be any big surprises when I see them next time and present the logo. And there aren’t any as long as we’re all there at the first meeting. We all talk about everything that is important to us.

Are there interim stages where they say, “I like this, but is there any chance you could make this blue instead?”

Sometimes, and if they’re reasonable questions, that’s fine. Very often, they’re just nervous about something. And that’s when I ask the really important question. I would never ask it at the first meeting, but when things look like they’re starting to fall apart, I ask them, “What are you afraid of?” And you would be surprised. With a question like that you would expect people to say, “What are you talking about? How dare you?” Yet they never ask that. They always answer the question, which is so interesting.

That’s why I always recommend, whenever any students ask me what I recommend that they do to become a designer: Take a Psych 101 class. Because of course they’re nervous. I talk them off the ledge, and then it’s usually fine. It’s a designer’s chance to earn their trust, which is a big step. The other trick I’ve used only once is, “We’re not going to leave this room until we all make a decision.” But the thing I do on the other end of the spectrum is whenever I schedule a meeting to show a logo design, I always try to schedule it in the afternoon. I serve gelato first, and then I show the logo. It usually works very well.

Do you find it relaxes them?

It’s better than getting them a drink. It makes them happy.

What is your work process like, typically? You mentioned hand lettering but do you also work on computers?

I actually don’t. I’m in that other generation that still likes to work the old way. What I do is approach it the same way I did for book jackets, which I did for eleven years at Pantheon. What I would do is get the title of the book, sit down with a tracing pad, and draw a 5.5 x 8.5-inch rectangle, which I could do with my eyes closed, and then just write the title of the book over and over again, just letting it speak to me. Page after page, it would go from something really rough to some thing more defined. I was looking to see how the words would work on the page.

As I got to something more defined, by the last page I realized it was a typeface that didn’t exist, and I was going to have to figure out how to do it by hand. In those days, I had a few choices; I could hire a letterer or I could do it myself or I could take an existing face and distort it. Usually I either did it myself or hired a letterer. This was also pre-computer, and the people doing lettering were very specific craftsmen – that’s all they did. I would give them very tight sketches, and then go over it with them, and they would do the final artwork.

Now, I have a very small studio. I only have two designers working for me, but I can’t hire anyone unless they’re good at hand lettering. But I still do my very tight sketches. The way I used to work in book jackets had actually prepared me well, because it’s really the same process. When I do logos, as soon as I start sketching I’m automatically making certain decisions. Like if the name of the restaurant is very long, it’s obviously going to have to be in a condensed font, because you can’t hyphenate the word. Except for once, when I hyphenated Mermaid Inn. Or if it’s three words that are different lengths, I would automatically put that in a circle. It’s these things I just know, having done logos for so long.

One of my designers asked me very nicely once, “If you were going to start all over and you were going to school now, do you think you’d become a graphic designer?” I said, “No, I probably wouldn’t.” It’s not the same. I became a graphic designer because I loved the letterpress shop, where I could sit with type and print it out and sift through books and do the hand lettering and the clamps. We learned lettering by going into the marshes and picking reeds and making our own reed pens. That’s very different than learning lettering on Illustrator – nothing wrong with Illustrator.

What is it like for you to come across a design of yours? Your work is so memorable, but in most ways you are completely anonymous as the creative force behind it.

That’s true, but they’re only logos [Laughs]. I love walking, and actually this is a good neighborhood for a little logo tour, because we have Via Carota, and we have Pearl Oyster Bar, Mermaid Oyster Bar, and Oat Meals, which is an oatmeal-themed restaurant. We used to have L’Arte del Gelato when they were on Seventh Avenue, but now they’re at Chelsea Market. Nothing makes me happier than to just walk around seeing all my logos, as long as they’re looking good.

Was there a specific moment when you recognized your talent for graphic design?

Well, I went to school [Skidmore] and majored in art. If you couldn’t paint, they would tell you you’re “graphically oriented,” and fortunately the one graphic design teacher took me under his wing. And that’s when it all came together; that’s when I realized, Oh, that’s why I’ve always been interested in lettering and making quotes and collecting packages and labels. It’s all graphic design! Because when I was in high school, they called that commercial art, which was pretty unsexy. Why would anybody be interested in that?

Besides developing a process, what did you learn from designing book covers?

When I started out at Pantheon, there weren’t a lot of risks being taken. All the jackets looked the same; everybody seemed to think that type on jackets had to be big and bold. I was on a mission to prove that you didn’t have to shout to capture someone’s attention – that a cover could be quiet and beautiful and still make a difference. I think the best-known jacket I did when I was at Pantheon was The Lover.

Margarite Duras was a celebrity in France but was relatively unknown in the U.S. In spite of the very understated jacket I did, the book became a legendary best-seller. It was Pantheon’s first, in 1985, so I think I proved my point. Once I had that one under my belt, salespeople were a lot more likely to just leave me alone. I got the opportunity to experiment with a different period or design or type history on a daily basis. It’s really where I came to develop my style. And that experience of being on a mission to prove that you didn’t have to shout was kind of the same thing when I started doing food packaging. Why did food packaging have to shout? Why couldn’t it just be something really beautiful and sensual that you want to take and bring home to look at? And maybe it would even taste good.

How did you end up starting your own studio?

I thought I’d stay at Pantheon forever, and fortunately I did otherwise. But after I had been there for eleven years, my son was born. I took my three-month leave of absence with every intention of going back, but when I did, the next list of books had come in and none of them were that appealing. And I just thought, I don’t want to be here. I had always been doing freelance for other publishers, because in those days art directors were so brutally paid that they all had to freelance to make ends meet, and I had an extra room in my apartment that I was already using as a studio.

I thought, I could do this. I had a nanny, so I would work in my studio with an assistant from 9 to 6, and then at 6 o’clock I would close the door and resume my life. That lasted about three years, until I needed more space and my son needed more space. I’ve always kept my studio in the neighborhood, though. I learned two important lessons right away. One is that you should never depend on any one type of work or any one client, because that can all change very rapidly. Two is that you should never sit and wait for the phone to ring with the perfect job because there is no perfect job.

I feel very strongly that every designer has to have his or her own personal projects. Because it’s the only way that you really grow and find your design voice, and that was the case for me. I started with what was closest to my heart, which was Italian art deco, because I had been collecting this material for so many years. My husband, Steve Keller, and I launched this series of books. It started with Italian Art Deco for Chronicle Books, and then it led to many others: Dutch, French, American streamline deco type, British, Spanish, German. They did very well, but eventually they drifted into remainder purgatory. And then we did Euro Deco, which was a selection of each of the books except American; that one’s still in hardcover, which is nice.

Why is it crucial not to rely on one kind of work?

Well, this was a time when everyone was moving over to the computer. Suddenly a lot more work was being done in-house. But the biggest difference was that I was used to being an art director [at Pantheon]; I would present the cover designs to the editors and I would get them approved. But now there was a middleman involved. Whenever I was working on any kind of publishing project it was always through an art director, and it didn’t work as well.

Everything was changing in publishing, and as much as I loved doing book covers I realized that there was life after publishing. When I started my studio, my idea was to focus on the only three things I’m interested in, which are food, type, and all things Italian. That was 28 years ago.

How did you get into restaurant identities?

Within the first year, I started finding my way into the curious world of restaurants. It couldn’t have been more diametrically opposed to book publishing. At the first restaurant I worked for, I had to explain to them why they had to pay both me and the printer. I realized I had to educate the client and make them understand why graphic design is important and how we had to work together, and so it was an interesting experience. But then I started working with one architecture firm in particular. They did really great work, and these architects were the first ones to hear about any new jobs, so they would recommend me early on. There was a lot more synergy.

Tell me about some of the challenges your business has faced.

Well, let’s talk about being a woman in the industry. When I started my business, it was the pre-Google era. You couldn’t be very creative about the name of your business because people had to find you in the phone book; it had to be some form of your name. I could have called myself Fili Associates or something like that, but that didn’t seem right. So I called it Louise Fili Ltd. I knew the name was going to be a liability, because it was very clear this was a woman-owned studio, but I decided I really wanted it. I wanted to send a clear message, and that was: If you have a problem with me being a woman, then I have a problem with you being my client. And I’m sure I’ve lost business that way, but it’s too bad. In those days there were very few studios run solely by women. I just decided to ignore it and do what I wanted to do.

Have there been any near disasters, in terms of crazy clients?

Oh yeah. When you have a small business, especially, you have to be very careful about what kind of clients you take on, because an abusive client can just bring down the whole studio. I wouldn’t do that to my employees. If I have any kind of inkling that this is not the right client for me, I’ll usually tell them, “It sounds like a great project, but I don’t think I’m the right designer for you.” And if it’s the wrong client, you know right away, because they don’t want to hear no; they’ll just hang on even tighter.

But as long as I can recommend someone else, they’re usually fine, and then they’re out the door. I also have to be very careful with the kind of people I hire. They have to understand the studio ethic. If they come from a big company, they’re much more likely not to. When you’re in a small studio, everyone just pitches in without even thinking about it, and that’s very important.

Do you have a favorite genre of client these days?

Women. I realized recently that the only restaurant clients I’ve had who have not bargained with me on my price have been women. And whenever I work with anyone from out of town, they don’t negotiate the price either. But in New York it’s to be expected. If I said $50, they would still want to bargain.

Are there reasons to be hopeful about the future of craftsmanship?

Definitely. I think there’s such a resurgence in hand lettering, for example. So many wonderful people who worked for me have gone off and made a name for themselves. Just like the resurgence in manual typewriters and turntables and everything like that, I think everyone is craving that tactility we lost. So I think craft is very important. I mean, there are people who appreciate it, and there are a lot of people who don’t know the difference.

What are some words of wisdom for someone contemplating their own solo business?

What I always tell people is that you have to follow your heart. You have to combine graphic design with something you’re passionate about. Design on its own – I don’t think it’s enough. I wouldn’t be the designer I am today if I hadn’t done my own projects. If you’re just doing work for other people, that’s what it looks like. But if you’re doing work that comes from your heart, it’s a really different story.

What is next for Louise Fili?

I think it’s designing fonts. For years people used to ask me, “Why don’t you do fonts?” I’m designing all this custom type for logos, and number one, I don’t want to just give it away. And number two, I’m only designing the letters that I need for the logo; I’m not doing the whole alphabet plus numbers, plus punctuation and everything. But I finally reached a point where I thought it might be interesting to try. We just started two months ago but I think it’s a natural progression.

And I still want to keep doing my own books. It’s an enormous amount of work and I lose money on all of them, but I don’t regret having done any of them. When I did the Barcelona book, I worked really hard and I had good weather, so I was able to do it in two trips, but it was an enormous amount of work. There was one sign in particular, for a photo studio, that was the most beautiful deco strip, and I couldn’t wait to see it in person. I checked ahead, right before I left, on Google Street View, to make sure it was still there and it was.

When I got to Barcelona, I wanted to go there on the first day but it wasn’t practical, so I went a couple days later. I literally ran to the spot to see the sign, and I got there and it was gone. All I could see were the traces of it on the facade. I was devastated. I felt like I had missed it by a matter of minutes. The photo studio obviously had closed but it really, really bothered me. The next day, I was interviewed by a journalist from El País, the Spanish newspaper, and two days later the article came out.

I didn’t even remember talking to him about this, but obviously I was still upset about it. He wrote about my not being able to find the sign, and he gave the name of the photo studio and the address. A week later, when I got back to New York, I got an email from the grandson of the original owner of Photos Lopez, and he said, “My family and I were very moved when we read the article, and I just want you to know that if you’re ever back in Barcelona, we’ll remount the sign for you so you can photograph it.” I went back as fast as I could. The whole family came out for the event – it was so wonderful. I’m so glad I went back, because I dedicated the book to them.

That’s a great story. Do you think it’s just too late for New York?

I have no interest in New York. Every now and then, I think, Well maybe I could do architectural signage and ornament, but it’s not same. When it’s in a different language it’s always much more interesting.

There’s something about seeing things more clearly when you’re somewhere else.

Yeah, when it’s new to you. That’s what happened when I did the Italian book. I was very surprised it got an enormous amount of press in Italy, which I wasn’t expecting at all. But they all said the same thing: “Gee, we walk past this signage every day, and we’ve never really appreciated it, and it took an American to come here to make us notice it.” And I’m sure I probably don’t notice things in New York. But I do. I always walk to work, and in the neighborhood we’re in now – it’s sort of the Flower District – I do find some things on the buildings that surprise me, like things carved into the buildings. But certainly not signage as we know it in Italy and France.

When you do see something extraordinary, it’s like another century speaking to you.

And it’s always such a miracle that it’s still there. Then suddenly, one day it’s gone.

#startups #text #startup #advice #busieness #howto #news #tech #love

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aneldritchmoth · 2 years

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I posted 130 times in 2021

48 posts created (37%)

82 posts reblogged (63%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 1.7 posts.

I added 119 tags in 2021

#ducktales 2017 - 24 posts

#darkwing duck - 15 posts

#drake mallard - 14 posts

#dt 17 - 14 posts

#dream smp - 12 posts

#ducktales incorrect quotes - 11 posts

#launchpad mcquack - 9 posts

#ducktales - 7 posts

#dream smp roleplay - 7 posts

#gladstone gander - 6 posts

Longest Tag: 54 characters

#im lonely this valentines day but at least my otp isnt

My Top Posts in 2021

Drake: How much money do you have?

Launchpad: Oh like 69 cents

Drake: AYE, you know what that means!

Launchpad: [sobbing] I don't have enough money for chicken nuggets...

90 notes • Posted 2021-04-24 18:18:17 GMT

Darkwing: How did none of you hear what I just said?

Launchpad: I’ve been zoned out for the past two and a half hours.

Gosalyn: I got distracted about halfway through.

Negaduck: Ignoring you was a conscious decision.

92 notes • Posted 2021-04-03 23:33:24 GMT

Dewey: Why are Drake and Launchpad sitting with their backs to each other?

Gosalyn: They had a fight.

Dewey: Then why are they holding hands?

Gosalyn: They get sad when they fight.

95 notes • Posted 2021-04-03 23:43:18 GMT

See the full post

112 notes • Posted 2021-04-01 01:24:17 GMT

Musicals the Ducktales Characters Listens To

This is my personal opinion but feel free to add more if you want. I'm basing this list on the musicals I actually know the story of.

Scrooge: He would watch Hamilton simply because I feel like he would appreciate the determination and perseverance of Hamilton, his favourite song is My Shot no doubt.

Donald Duck: I feel like he would like the Little Shop of Horrors, not sure why but I just feel like it's fitting.

Della Duck: I'm sure she would love Six.

Gladstone: Something tells me he would like Hamilton, his favorite song would be Satisfied.

Fethry: I don't think he'd watch musicals in his free time but would listen to some to spend time with his family.

Huey: He listens to Be More Chill whenever he can and his favourite song is Voices In My Head.

Dewey: Would sing to Six songs with Della and would absolutely love the Heathers drama.

Louie: Not the most enthusiastic about musicals but I'm sure he would enjoy Beetlejuice.

Webby: Likes The Lighting Thief because Greek Mythology, would also listen to Heathers with Dewey.

Lena: Loves the Little Shops Of Horrors and Beetlejuice because she likes creepy stuff.

Violet: She also happens to enjoy The Lighting Thief for the same reason as Webby. I feel like she'd also enjoy Six because history.

Gosalyn: Listens whatever musicals Dewey listens to but she'd prefer Six over Heathers.

Launchpad: He enjoys watching Six with Gosalyn and Dewey and he'd also listen to Dear Evan Hansen with Drake.

Drake: Okay this guy just has the Theater Kid vibes already. I personally think he'd like Dear Evan Hansen, relating to Evan to some levels. He also likes Be More Chill and his two favourite songs are Waving Through A Window and Be More Chill - Part 1.

Jim: This guy would probably listen to 35mm: A Musical Exhibition, his favourite song is The Ballad of Sara Berry and he probably also puts in on repeat when plotting his revenge on Drake. He also like Heathers and Meant To Be Yours is his second favourite song to plot to.

Gyro: He would listen to Be More Chill only for the S.Q.U.I.P and to try to recreate the technology. Also "Wait this pill is such a cool invention there's no way it'll backfire".

Fenton: This guy listens to Hamilton he would also relate to Hamilton in some way mostly because he's determined, his favorite song is Aaron Bur, Sir and Right Hand Man. Also Lin Manuel Miranda is his voice actor so yeah.

114 notes • Posted 2021-04-25 01:55:06 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

#my 2021 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #cameron's thoughts #somequeerteen

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photomaniacs · 7 years

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8 Tips for Shooting an Award-Winning Tornado Photo http://ift.tt/2tmNfTm

I’ve been photographing extreme weather for 25 years. After publishing tips on how to photograph lightning here back in March, I was asked to share any tips I have in capturing an award-winning tornado image. So, here I go…

Note to reader: Storm chasing and extreme weather photography, as discussed in this article, can be very dangerous. Any person should approach these activities with caution and appropriate supervision and training.

Tip 1: Study Your Subject and Risks

Adopting a ‘safety first’ policy is critical when storm chasing. To start, I recommend reading The Basics of Tornadoes on the Storm Prediction Center website.

In my experience, storm chasing risks fall somewhere between climbing Mount Everest and shopping at Wal-Mart on Black Friday. Veteran storm chaser Chuck Doswell has an excellent article titled “Storm Chasing with Safety, Courtesy and Responsibility.”

Members of Tempest Tours Storm Chasing Expeditions photograph a tornado in eastern Colorado on May 7, 2014. Nikon D800, Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 16-35mm f/4.0 ED VR, 1/200 sec, f/22, ISO 1600, handheld.

I also recommend you hook up with a storm chaser with at least three years’ experience to head out into the field. If you don’t know any storm chasers to ride along with, consider taking a trip with a professional storm-chasing tour company. You’ll improve your chances of seeing a tornado and viewing it safely.

Tip 2: Know Your Gear Inside and Out

According to the Storm Prediction Center, the average tornado lasts less than 10 minutes. Therefore, extreme weather photographers typically have to shoot fast. To be fast and accurate you must have thorough knowledge of your gear.

A turbulent sky erupts over southern Minnesota during three days of severe weather, including 10 tornadoes, May 15-17, 2017. Nikon D5, Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR, 1/640 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200, handheld.

Buy the best-sealed, weatherproof, dependable camera you can afford. I’ve been shooting with Nikon equipment my entire career. Over the years, I’ve snapped frames of weather with everything from a Nikon N50 to the Nikon D5. You may get one chance at one shot of a tornado, so it’s imperative you trust your camera.

I practice with my camera before heading out to intercept a storm. If you practice, you can get to the point where you can honestly shoot with your eyes closed or in complete darkness. That’s knowing your camera.

Tip 3: Previsualize

Ansel Adams strongly believed in previsualization, a concept where the photographer can see the final print in his or her mind before actually capturing the image. Once I learned the science behind tornadoes, I began previsualizing what I wanted to see out in the field.

A large, high contrast tornado churns across rural farmland near Mt. Hope, Kansas on May 6, 2015. The tornado was rated an EF3 by the National Weather Service. Nikon D800, Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 16-35mm f/4G ED VR, 1/320 sec, f/8, ISO 400, handheld.

I typically only target tornadoes that remain in rural and wide-open fields and pose, little, if any, threat to local residents.

My goal is to try to capture the most breathtaking and optically stunning moments of the storm’s evolution. I search for a tornado that yields rich, striking colors, strong contrast, graphically interesting shapes, and well-balanced light. I can’t change the direction of a storm, but I can change how I approach it.

Tornadoes come in a variety of colors and tones. Left: A large tornado swirls across western Kansas on May 23, 2008. Nikon D3, Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED, 1/50 sec, f/8, ISO 1000, handheld. Right: A tornado moves over rural land near Kingfisher, Oklahoma on May 19, 2010. Nikon D300S, Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED, 1/250 sec, f/10, ISO 200, handheld.

Tornadoes come in all shapes and sizes. Left: A thin, rope-shaped twister in eastern Colorado on May 7, 2014. Nikon D800, Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 16-35mm f/4G VR, 1/160 sec, f/20, ISO 450, handheld. Right: A large, wedge-shaped tornado in western Kansas on May 23, 2008. Nikon D3, Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED, 1/20 sec, f/8, ISO 1000, handheld.

Just how photogenic a tornado becomes depends a lot on strength and direction of sunlight and whether or not rain is present. Left: A low contrast tornado at sunset with rain. Right: A high contrast tornado at sunset without rain.

Do I want to shoot the tornado moving over a field or over a dirt road? Do I want to shoot the image with the sun in front, beside or behind the tornado? Is the tornado high-contrast and easy to see or is it low-contrast or wrapped in rain and difficult to see? What shape will it take? How big will it get? Is there any sense of motion? Will there be color in the frame or will it be monochromatic? These are questions I ask myself as I approach a developing tornado.

I photographed this low top supercell thunderstorm and tornado near Bird City, Kansas on June 29, 2000. I was about two miles away. The left image was shot with a Nikon AF Zoom-NIKKOR 35-70mm f/2.8D which allowed me to capture the tornado and the entire structure of the storm. The right image was shot with a Nikon AF Zoom-NIKKOR 80-200mm f/2.8D zoomed all the way in giving me a much closer look at the tornado. Using a telephoto lens while keeping your distance is one of the safest methods for shooting a tornado.

Tip 4: Use Different Lenses to Produce Different Perspectives

If you’re approaching your target storm and it produces a tornado while you’re still a couple of miles away, it’s time to pull over and shoot with a tele-zoom lens. My favorite tele-zoom lenses to have in the camera bag are the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 ED VR II and the Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR. When I’m less than a mile from the storm, I will typically shoot with the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G ED lens or the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR. One of my favorite prime lenses to use is the Nikon 14mm f/2.8D ED.

Tip 5: Take Advantage of Vibration Reduction

Remember, the average tornado lasts less than 10 minutes. As soon as it forms, you need to spring into action. No looking for a media card, or lens cleaning cloth or tripod! I’ve witnessed storm chasers take so long in setting up a tripod that they miss the tornado. Use a lens with Vibration Reduction. When your feet hit the ground, you need to be shooting within 30 seconds. My favorite VR lenses for shooting tornadoes are the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR and Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 ED VR II. Equally if I’m shooting motion, I’ll take the time to attach the camera to a tripod beforehand.

Left: Storm chaser Reed Timmer photographs a tornado in western South Dakota on June 6, 2007. Nikon D2X, Nikon AF DX Fisheye-NIKKOR 10.5mm f/2.8G ED, 1/125 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200, handheld. Right: After documenting Reed photographing the twister, I turned to my left, aimed out the window, and captured this image that I titled, “Blue Tornado.” Nikon D2X, Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-NIKKOR 17-55mm f/2.8G IF-ED, 1/160 sec, f/10, ISO 200, handheld.

Professional storm chasers monitor a tornado in western Kansas on May 8, 2008. I included the vehicle in the frame to give us a sense of the size and close proximity of the tornado. Nikon D700, Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED, 1/320 sec, f/22, ISO 200, handheld.

Tip 6: Include a Smaller Object to Give the Tornado a Sense of Scale

On May 8, 2008, I photographed one of the most photogenic tornadoes of my career in western Kansas. Photo assistant Robin Lorenson and I had been documenting the tornado for almost 30 minutes. Meteorologists call this type of twister a ‘landspout tornado’, a non-storm scale tornado that is typically weaker than supercell tornadoes.

At first, I only photographed the tornado and landscape. Then, to provide a sense of scale, I walked 10 feet behind our storm chase vehicle and fired off a few more frames. Having my vehicle in the image gives us the sense of the sheer size and close proximity of the tornado.

A tornado develops during astronomical twilight near Trinidad, Colorado on May 28, 2001. Nikon N90s, Nikon AF Zoom-NIKKOR 35-70mm f/2.8D, negative color film, handheld, data unrecorded.

Tip 7: Keep Shooting During Twilight and After Dark

Astronomical twilight is one of my favorite times of the day to work. It occurs when the sun is six degrees below the horizon. All the red and yellow light waves are gone. The higher color temperature of the light produces a rich blue. Even though the faint ambient light of evening does not look blue to our eyes, an exposure of a few seconds or longer reveals the high Kelvin temperature.

A bright burst of lightning illuminates two after-dark tornadoes near La Crosse, Kansas on May 25, 2012. Without the lightning, the after dark twisters could not be seen. Nikon D3S, Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8 ED VR, 0.8 secs, f/2.8, ISO 4000, on tripod.

I also like the challenge of shooting tornadoes after it’s completely dark, but only if the storm is over a rural, wide-open landscape. When a twister occurs after dark, it’s nearly impossible to see. I have to hope that there are enough lightning flashes to illuminate the shape and size of the tornado.

On May 25, 2012, storm chasing partner Jenna Blum and I witnessed multiple tornadoes near La Crosse, Kansas. It was a spectacular phenomenon to see. But we could only see and photograph the tornadoes because of the light created by frequent cloud-to-cloud lightning bolts.

A landspout tornado spins across a western Kansas farm field on May 8, 2008. Nikon D3, Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED, 1/400 sec, f/22, ISO 400, handheld.

A stormy sky at sunset in southern Minnesota on May 17, 2017, wrapped up a three-day period of severe weather, including 10 tornadoes. Nikon D5, Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR, 1/125 sec, f/11, ISO 250, handheld.

Tip 8: No Tornado? Keep Shooting.

Tornadoes are actually quite rare. I’ve heard some folks say that to see a tornado you need to go on at least seven chases. I’ve been much luckier, seeing a tornado about every four chases.

So what do you do when a tornado doesn’t develop? Keep shooting! Stormy weather frequently produces dramatic lighting, moody colors and plenty of landscape photo-ops. You will also be practicing for when you do finally see a tornado.

I hope one or more of these tips are helpful. Good luck and be safe!

About the author: Jim Reed is a National Geographic photographer based in the United States who specializes in extreme weather. His tornado images have received many awards including Communication Arts, PDN Photo Annual, American Photography, and Pictures of the Year International. You can find more of his work on his website, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Go to Source Author: Jim Reed If you’d like us to remove any content please send us a message here CHECK OUT THE TOP SELLING CAMERAS!

The post 8 Tips for Shooting an Award-Winning Tornado Photo appeared first on CameraFreaks.

June 14, 2017 at 09:01PM

#photo photography art camera cameras

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repwinpril9y0a1 · 7 years

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Can you build a cheaper X100 with a mirrorless body and pancake lens?

One of the ones to beat: the Fujifilm X100F offers excellent image quality in a relatively compact and, dare I suggest, quite attractive package.

As a bunch of (perhaps above-averagely tech devoted) photographers, one of the unifying factors in the office is our love of larger sensor, fixed prime lens cameras. Obviously there are still arguments about whether they should be 28mm or 35mm equivalent and whether the compactness and lower price of APS-C outweighs the image quality benefits of full-frame, but that's because we're an awkward, opinionated bunch. We're broadly agreed that they're a great concept.

But is there another way of getting the same result? Of putting together a small mirrorless camera and one of the newly prevalent pancake primes, and ending up with a cheaper and more flexible combination?

There's always something enticing about the prospect of doing something your own way, of cleaving from the path prescribed by the marketeers, and coming up with a better solution.

So what are your options? Let's looks at the lenses available and then see if there's an appropriate body to match.

The lenses

First it helps to decide what focal length you want. I've mapped the most common pancake lenses on a graph, showing equivalent focal length and equivalent aperture. This lets us compare field of view, depth of field and, to a reasonable approximation: low light image quality. I'm not going to argue about this, it just does.

As this chart shows, you broadly speaking get to choose from roughly 24, 28, 35 or 40mm equivalent lenses. I've included a couple of our favorite fixed-lens prime cameras on for reference.

Looking at the chart, you might think: 'great, I've got lots of choices.' But please let me 'manage your expectations,' if you don't mind me using one of the most loathsome phrases I've ever encountered.

Why don't I want you to get your hopes up too much? Well, mainly because some of these lenses just aren't very good. The precise reasons for my skepticism vary but a recurrent concern is that far too many of these lenses use 'unit focus' or 'group focus' design, where a most, if not all of the lens groups have to be moved around to focus the lens. This is probably the worst way to design a lens that's going to be used with contrast detection AF: accelerating lenses in one direction and then the other rewards the lightest of focusing elements. By contrast, trying to heft multiple groups around takes rather longer. On the other hand, this design can give good optical results. Eventually.

Then you've got the lenses that are optically iffy. The Sony 16mm F2.8 E may stand out because it's the only 24mm equivalent option here, but there's the slight downside that it's legendarily indifferent. In fairness, there may be examples that don't have corners or whole sides of the lens that are a bit mushy, I've just never encountered one.

28mm equiv.

28mm equivalent lenses allow you to shoot slightly wider-angle scenes. Or this picture of a train.

There are two stand-out choices here: the tiny but seeming end-of-life Panasonic Lumix G 14mm F2.5 II Aspherical II and the not-really-a-pancake at all Sigma 19mm F2.8 DN for Sony E-mount. Both are fast-focusing and, at around $280 and $200 respectively, are rather keenly priced. And, to add to the appeal, the main camera they're likely to have to face down is the Ricoh GR II, which has only a moderately fast F2.8 maximum aperture (and unit focus, would you believe), so either of these lenses should be able to offer a credible alternative.

35mm equiv.

At 35mm equiv, again there are two obvious choices. Personally I'd prefer the Olympus 17mm F1.8 over the Canon 22mm F2, just on the basis that it uses a single, internal focus element. This means it's much faster than the Canon, whose group focus design holds it back a little, even on the latest EOS M bodies with their clever Dual Pixel AF.

That said, the Canon is a jolly reasonable $250, rather than the $400 that the Oly will set you back. Also, the Olympus is again a little stout to really class as a pancake lens. But, given it can be paired with some very small bodies and because I like its snap-back manual focus ring, I'm keeping it in the running.

40mm equiv.

The GX85 isn't as small as the GX850 (which makes us mourn the end of the GM line all the more), but it still pairs rather well with the 28mm equiv 14/2.5 or the 40mm equiv 20/1.7.

40mm equiv used to be a fairly standard lens for fixed prime lens cameras. It doesn't really have the hint-of-wide-angle charm of a 35mm equiv, but some people like it. It's Panasonic's 20mm F1.7 that's the obvious choice here. It's the same old story: 'first pancake design? let's use unit focus,' but it's a pretty reasonable $270 and it's fast enough so long as you don't have ambitions of using it in AF-C mode all the time.

Fujifilm's 27mm F2.8 is a little slower, in equivalent terms, but it's really the combination of this and a $450-odd price tag that puts me off.

The cameras

So, what are the best cameras to pair these little lenses with? Personally, I'd argue that the perfect pancake-shooting camera will carefully balance three key properties: size, price and a degree of external control. I don't expect all three to be optimal, but those are the things I need, if I want to get anywhere close to the experience of something like a Ricoh GR or a Fujifilm X100 series.

I'm not going to insist on a viewfinder, since Ricoh, Fujifilm, Leica and Sony have sold prime lens cameras without them and presumably they've done some sort of market research before committing hundred of thousands of dollars to that decision. But it's a nice thing to have.

There's more to this than lens depth. A 60mm equiv camera with a full-depth SLR mount and single control dial isn't quite what I'm talking about.

Sony E-mount

This one's easy, I reckon. The Sony a6000 is small, it offers a degree of external control plus a little bit of customization, has a viewfinder and is available for $500. Even though I have mixed feelings about the small, convenient and frequently slightly wonky 16-50mm power zoom, you can pick it up as part of a kit for just one hundred extra dollars. And, in doing so, take some advantage of the extra flexibility that comes from going down the ILC route.

The a5100 is also worth a look. It's essentially the same hardware but with fewer controls and less scope for customization so would seems to fall foul of my rules almost immediately, but the flip-up touchscreen is going to appeal to some people.

I wouldn't, personally, try to save money by picking up an NEX-6, at this point. On paper it doesn't look that different from an a6000 (it was slightly higher spec in a couple of respects), but having got used the to improved menus and customizable function menu of the a6000, I couldn't go back. Especially not for a camera I actually want to enjoy.

Canon EF-M

Canon has bounced around all over the shop in terms of who it's targeting with its EOS M cameras. Whether this is an attempt to protect its DSLR sales or a sincere belief that only entry-level users want mirrorless cameras, it's meant there aren't many options if you want an enthusiast level of direct control.

The Canon 22mm F2 isn't the fastest focusing lens but it's better on the company's more recent cameras and makes a great 'world as I see it' documentary lens.

The EOS M3 was the first model to include both a command dial and a dedicated exposure comp dial, so is one of the few I'd consider for this task. You can pick one up for around $430 at the moment, so it's pretty well priced, too.

Like the Sony a5100, the EOS M10 is a simplified, primarily touchscreen-controlled model, which isn't really my thing, but might be yours.

Sadly, both of these models are built around the company's last generation Hybrid AF CMOS sensors. It works reasonably well but it's not a patch on the Dual Pixel AF that arrived with the M6. The M6 would be a much better fit for this role than either of the bodies I've mentioned, but sadly it's currently around $900, which significantly undermines the aim of putting together a cheap kit. If the price drops, though...

Micro Four Thirds

The Micro Four Thirds system has two great advantages, here: as the world's first Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Camera system, both Olympus and Panasonic have had enough time to develop some inexpensive bodies with a good level of control. Then, of course, its slightly smaller sensor allows the camera bodies and lenses to be that bit smaller, too.

The Panasonic 20mm F1.7 pairs well with a small camera body, meaning it's with you when a stranger unexpectedly throws straw at you.

This leaves you with a good choice of bodies. On the Panasonic side of things, there's the GX850/GX800, which is currently the company's smallest body. Sadly it's not quite as small as the 'GM' series it replaces. The GM5 would be perfect for this application, but it's only going to get harder to find one at a decent price, now. The slightly larger GX85/GX80, which gives more direct control. If you've spotted anything of a trend so far, you won't be surprised that this is the one I'd go for.

The Olympus rival here would be the E-PL8 (or the PL7 if you can find one). With a little bit of button reassignment and customization, the PL8 makes a pretty good hands-on shooter and also offers a flip-up touchscreen. The JPEG color is lovely, too, which is a bonus if that was one of the factors pushing you towards the X100F.

Recommendations: 28mm equiv:

Sony a6000 + Sigma 19mm F2.8 ~ $700 ($800 with kit zoom)

As I say, this one's easy. It's a capable camera at a fiercely competitive price. The Panasonic GX85 + 14mm lens will be a bit smaller, feels a bit better in the hand and offers 4K video, but it ends up being around $900 and you don't even get the kit lens for that, so I'd go with the Sony/Sigma combination.

35mm equiv:

Olympus E-PL8 + 17mm F1.8 ~ $950 ($1050 with 12-32mm kit zoom)

Fujifilm X-A3 + 23mm F2 ~$1050 (including 16-50mm kit zoom)

Canon EOS M6 + 22mm F2 ~$1020 ($1150 with 15-45mm kit zoom)

As you can see, you get plenty of choices if you prefer the 35mm equiv focal length (which, as right-thinking people, you should). The Olympus is both pretty and pretty small, the Canon is the most expensive but fits more honestly into the Mirrorless+Pancake definition and requires much less reconfiguration to adapt it to the task.

But, since this is an opinion piece, not a review, I'm going to cheat and choose something that I've not even mentioned yet: the Fujifilm X-A3 and 23mm F2. Sorry to spring it on you like that.

He just came out of nowhere! Grabbed shot with the Fujifilm X100F

Clearly I'm not sorry, though. The X-A3 isn't as well built as the Canon, and the Fujifilm 23mm F2 doesn't fit any sensible definition of a pancake, but it's the closest you'll get to the capabilities of the X100 series. On top of this, the X-A3 has twin control dials, a 24MP sensor and a sensible price tag, so it's in. And, just to add to the appeal, it is part of a system with the best range of circa-$500 prime lenses I can think of. So there.

Fixed lens or ILC?

Swings and roundabouts: there are advantages and disadvantages to each solution, but both these 35mm equivalents have a lot going for them, whether as main or secondary camera.

Ultimately, going down this route, whichever brand and combination you choose doesn't buy you such an photographer-focused camera as the likes of the Ricoh GR II or the Fujifilm X100F. You usually have to settle for a darker lens and significantly less control. Worse still, you don't even necessarily save that much money.

However, the clear benefit of slapping a pancake (or something vaguely like it) on a little mirrorless camera is flexibility. Because, as soon as you want to expand your horizons beyond the pancake's field of view, you can can put on another lens and do just that. So please think carefully about which other lenses are available and, whatever you decide, I hope you enjoy the prime lens shooting experience.

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chpatdoorsl3z0a1 · 7 years

Text

Can you build a cheaper X100 with a mirrorless body and pancake lens?

One of the ones to beat: the Fujifilm X100F offers excellent image quality in a relatively compact and, dare I suggest, quite attractive package.

There's always something enticing about the prospect of doing something your own way, of cleaving from the path prescribed by the marketeers, and coming up with a better solution.

So what are your options? Let's looks at the lenses available and then see if there's an appropriate body to match.

The lenses

As this chart shows, you broadly speaking get to choose from roughly 24, 28, 35 or 40mm equivalent lenses. I've included a couple of our favorite fixed-lens prime cameras on for reference.

28mm equiv.

28mm equivalent lenses allow you to shoot slightly wider-angle scenes. Or this picture of a train.

35mm equiv.

40mm equiv.

The GX85 isn't as small as the GX850 (which makes us mourn the end of the GM line all the more), but it still pairs rather well with the 28mm equiv 14/2.5 or the 40mm equiv 20/1.7.

Fujifilm's 27mm F2.8 is a little slower, in equivalent terms, but it's really the combination of this and a $450-odd price tag that puts me off.

The cameras

There's more to this than lens depth. A 60mm equiv camera with a full-depth SLR mount and single control dial isn't quite what I'm talking about.

Sony E-mount

Canon EF-M

The Canon 22mm F2 isn't the fastest focusing lens but it's better on the company's more recent cameras and makes a great 'world as I see it' documentary lens.

Like the Sony a5100, the EOS M10 is a simplified, primarily touchscreen-controlled model, which isn't really my thing, but might be yours.

Micro Four Thirds

The Panasonic 20mm F1.7 pairs well with a small camera body, meaning it's with you when a stranger unexpectedly throws straw at you.

Recommendations: 28mm equiv:

Sony a6000 + Sigma 19mm F2.8 ~ $700 ($800 with kit zoom)

35mm equiv:

Olympus E-PL8 + 17mm F1.8 ~ $950 ($1050 with 12-32mm kit zoom)

Fujifilm X-A3 + 23mm F2 ~$1050 (including 16-50mm kit zoom)

Canon EOS M6 + 22mm F2 ~$1020 ($1150 with 15-45mm kit zoom)

But, since this is an opinion piece, not a review, I'm going to cheat and choose something that I've not even mentioned yet: the Fujifilm X-A3 and 23mm F2. Sorry to spring it on you like that.

He just came out of nowhere! Grabbed shot with the Fujifilm X100F

Fixed lens or ILC?

Swings and roundabouts: there are advantages and disadvantages to each solution, but both these 35mm equivalents have a lot going for them, whether as main or secondary camera.

from DIYS http://ift.tt/2rhPNSx

#DIYS

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rtscrndr53704 · 7 years

Text

Can you build a cheaper X100 with a mirrorless body and pancake lens?

One of the ones to beat: the Fujifilm X100F offers excellent image quality in a relatively compact and, dare I suggest, quite attractive package.

There's always something enticing about the prospect of doing something your own way, of cleaving from the path prescribed by the marketeers, and coming up with a better solution.

So what are your options? Let's looks at the lenses available and then see if there's an appropriate body to match.

The lenses

As this chart shows, you broadly speaking get to choose from roughly 24, 28, 35 or 40mm equivalent lenses. I've included a couple of our favorite fixed-lens prime cameras on for reference.

28mm equiv.

28mm equivalent lenses allow you to shoot slightly wider-angle scenes. Or this picture of a train.

35mm equiv.

40mm equiv.

The GX85 isn't as small as the GX850 (which makes us mourn the end of the GM line all the more), but it still pairs rather well with the 28mm equiv 14/2.5 or the 40mm equiv 20/1.7.

Fujifilm's 27mm F2.8 is a little slower, in equivalent terms, but it's really the combination of this and a $450-odd price tag that puts me off.

The cameras

There's more to this than lens depth. A 60mm equiv camera with a full-depth SLR mount and single control dial isn't quite what I'm talking about.

Sony E-mount

Canon EF-M

The Canon 22mm F2 isn't the fastest focusing lens but it's better on the company's more recent cameras and makes a great 'world as I see it' documentary lens.

Like the Sony a5100, the EOS M10 is a simplified, primarily touchscreen-controlled model, which isn't really my thing, but might be yours.

Micro Four Thirds

The Panasonic 20mm F1.7 pairs well with a small camera body, meaning it's with you when a stranger unexpectedly throws straw at you.

Recommendations: 28mm equiv:

Sony a6000 + Sigma 19mm F2.8 ~ $700 ($800 with kit zoom)

35mm equiv:

Olympus E-PL8 + 17mm F1.8 ~ $950 ($1050 with 12-32mm kit zoom)

Fujifilm X-A3 + 23mm F2 ~$1050 (including 16-50mm kit zoom)

Canon EOS M6 + 22mm F2 ~$1020 ($1150 with 15-45mm kit zoom)

But, since this is an opinion piece, not a review, I'm going to cheat and choose something that I've not even mentioned yet: the Fujifilm X-A3 and 23mm F2. Sorry to spring it on you like that.

He just came out of nowhere! Grabbed shot with the Fujifilm X100F

Fixed lens or ILC?

Swings and roundabouts: there are advantages and disadvantages to each solution, but both these 35mm equivalents have a lot going for them, whether as main or secondary camera.

from DIYS http://ift.tt/2rhPNSx

#DIYS

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grgedoors02142 · 7 years

Text

Can you build a cheaper X100 with a mirrorless body and pancake lens?

One of the ones to beat: the Fujifilm X100F offers excellent image quality in a relatively compact and, dare I suggest, quite attractive package.

There's always something enticing about the prospect of doing something your own way, of cleaving from the path prescribed by the marketeers, and coming up with a better solution.

So what are your options? Let's looks at the lenses available and then see if there's an appropriate body to match.

The lenses

As this chart shows, you broadly speaking get to choose from roughly 24, 28, 35 or 40mm equivalent lenses. I've included a couple of our favorite fixed-lens prime cameras on for reference.

28mm equiv.

28mm equivalent lenses allow you to shoot slightly wider-angle scenes. Or this picture of a train.

35mm equiv.

40mm equiv.

The GX85 isn't as small as the GX850 (which makes us mourn the end of the GM line all the more), but it still pairs rather well with the 28mm equiv 14/2.5 or the 40mm equiv 20/1.7.

Fujifilm's 27mm F2.8 is a little slower, in equivalent terms, but it's really the combination of this and a $450-odd price tag that puts me off.

The cameras

There's more to this than lens depth. A 60mm equiv camera with a full-depth SLR mount and single control dial isn't quite what I'm talking about.

Sony E-mount

Canon EF-M

The Canon 22mm F2 isn't the fastest focusing lens but it's better on the company's more recent cameras and makes a great 'world as I see it' documentary lens.

Like the Sony a5100, the EOS M10 is a simplified, primarily touchscreen-controlled model, which isn't really my thing, but might be yours.

Micro Four Thirds

The Panasonic 20mm F1.7 pairs well with a small camera body, meaning it's with you when a stranger unexpectedly throws straw at you.

Recommendations: 28mm equiv:

Sony a6000 + Sigma 19mm F2.8 ~ $700 ($800 with kit zoom)

35mm equiv:

Olympus E-PL8 + 17mm F1.8 ~ $950 ($1050 with 12-32mm kit zoom)

Fujifilm X-A3 + 23mm F2 ~$1050 (including 16-50mm kit zoom)

Canon EOS M6 + 22mm F2 ~$1020 ($1150 with 15-45mm kit zoom)

But, since this is an opinion piece, not a review, I'm going to cheat and choose something that I've not even mentioned yet: the Fujifilm X-A3 and 23mm F2. Sorry to spring it on you like that.

He just came out of nowhere! Grabbed shot with the Fujifilm X100F

Fixed lens or ILC?

Swings and roundabouts: there are advantages and disadvantages to each solution, but both these 35mm equivalents have a lot going for them, whether as main or secondary camera.

from DIYS http://ift.tt/2rhPNSx

#DIYS

0 notes

slrlounge1 · 5 years

Text

Wedding Photography DSLR Prime Lenses – The Complete Guide | 2019 Update

Overview of Wedding Photography Equipment

To view our complete guide to camera bodies for wedding photography, click HERE. To view our complete guide to zoom lenses for wedding photography, click HERE.

Define Your Style: Primes VS Zooms In WEdding PHotography

Therefore, we will make our recommendations from both perspectives, in separate guides, and this article will focus mainly on zoom lenses.

A Complete Kit – Zooms

Either way, the bottom line is that it takes about 3-4 total lenses to create a well-rounded “product” for a wedding. (Not even counting specialty lenses such as macro or fisheye lenses.)

A Complete Kit – Primes

This article will focus mainly on prime lenses and specialty lenses for wedding photography. Our article on zoom lenses can be found HERE.

The Lenses That “Define Your Style”

Without any further ado, we will break down the must-have prime lenses for wedding photographers, in our usual Gear Guide categories- “Performance Champions” and “Value Winners”. Enjoy!

50mm Prime Lens Recommendations

All-Around Value Winner: Nikon 50mm f/1.8 G Canon 50mm f/1.8 STM Sony 50mm f/1.8 FE

Performance Champion (Unlimited Budget) Canon 50mm f/1.2 L II Canon RF 50mm f/1.2

Performance Champion (affordable) Sigma 50mm f/1.4 Art

Even though it is only $400, (with a $100 instant rebate that is often available) …this Sigma lens finds itself in the performance champion category because it is just that darn good. In fact it competes well with the Canon 50 1.2 which costs a whopping $1,000 more! Unlike most copies of the Canon 50mm f/1.4 which desperately need to be at f/2 in order to really start getting sharp; the Sigma 50mm is good enough to be shot wide open even for very important shots. When it nails focus, that is. Sigma’s HSM focus motor in this lens is just barely more snappy than Canon’s USM focus motor in the 50 L.

Performance Champion #3: Nikon 58mm f/1.4 G

Don’t be fooled by its lack of “f/1.2” written on the lens, this “normal” prime also packs some incredible, creamy bokeh.

Medium Wide Angle Prime Lens Recommendations

Between 24mm and 50mm there are a handful of prime lenses that many wedding photographers (especially the photojournalist types) love to use.

35mm Performance Champion: Sigma 35mm f/1.4 EX DG Art

If you already have a name-brand 35mm f/1.4, you probably won’t really need to upgrade. The Canon 35mm f/1.4 L mk2 is indeed an incredible lens, however, it’s also nearly $1,700.

35mm Value Winners: Nikon 35mm f/2 Canon 35mm f/2

35mm Performance AND Value Champion: Canon 35mm IS f/2

28mm Performance AND Value Champion: Nikon 28mm f/1.8 G

F/2.8 Prime Champions: Canon 28mm f/2.8 IS Canon 24mm f/2.8 IS

Performance Champions: Nikon 24mm f/1.4 G Canon 24mm f/1.4 L mk2

Ultra Wide Angle Prime Lens Recommendations

Then again, all of these recommendations offer significant weight savings over most ultra-wide zooms, as well as decent cost savings.

Nikon 20mm f/2.8 Canon 20mm f/2.8

Tokina 17mm f/3.5 ATX Pro

These lenses are a little hard to find, but create a “saved search” on Ebay or check KEH.com every now and then, and you should be able to score one for about $300 or less eventually.

Canon 14mm f/2.8 L Nikon 14mm f/2.8 D

They are the classic “rent one to see if you like it, don’t just randomly buy them” type of lens

Fisheye Lenses

Telephoto Prime Lens Recommendations

Since there are primes available from 85mm to 200mm, once again we’ll have to just throw all the “performance champions” and “value winners” together in a jumble. Here goes nothing!

All-Around Value Winners: Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM Nikon AF-S 85mm f/1.8 G

Canon 100mm f/2

Sheer Performance Champions: Canon 85mm f/1.2

Sigma 85mm f/1.4 Art Nikon AF-S 85mm f/1.4 G

These two 85mm lenses are also ready to deliver beautiful bokeh and incredible sharpness, despite their 2/3 EV smaller aperture.

Nikon AF-S 105mm f/1.4E ED

Canon 135mm f/2 L

Sigma 150mm f/2.8 OS Macro EX DG

Exotic Performance Champions: Canon 200mm f/2 L IS Nikon 200mm f/2 VR

These two lenses, although some would argue are overkill for weddings and lifestyle type portraits, seem to be the “Rolex” of telephoto bokeh champions.

Bottom line, these two lenses are both flawlessly sharp, incredibly snappy to focus, and offer a truly unique shooting experience.

Of course, any successful wedding photographers could do just fine with a 70-200mmm f/2.8, but that’s not the point. These lenses are what camera geeks buy instead of a Harley when they turn 45.

Sony Prime Lenses For Wedding Photography

Sony FE 24mm f/1.4 GM

Sony SONNAR T* FE 55mm f/1.8 ZA

Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM

Sony FE 135mm f/1.8 GM

Manual-Focus Prime Lenses For Wedding Photography

Crop-Sensor Prime Lens Recommendations For Wedding Photography

Sigma 16mm f/1.4 DC Contemporary Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC Contemporary (Also in Sigma Art form) Canon EF-M 22mm f/2 STM Canon EF-M 32mm f/1.4 STM Fuji 16mm XF f/1.4 WR Fuji 23mm XF f/1.4 R

Specialty Lens Recommendations For Wedding Photography

Macro Lenses – Value Winners: Tamron 90mm f/2.8 VC Macro Tokina 100mm f/2.8 Macro Sigma 105mm f/2.8 OS Macro

If you really like doing high-quality wedding ring shots, you’re in luck- You don’t really need to break the bank if all you want is something that is super-sharp and focuses extremely close-up.

(Yes, you can also use these lenses at normal distances for general photography, too, especially the Tamron and Sigma stabilized lenses.)

Macro Lens – Performance Champions: Canon 100mm L f/2.8 IS Macro Nikon 105mm f/2.8 VR Macro Sony FE 90mm f/2.8 Macro G OSS

Tilt-Shift Lenses

Conclusion & Additional Reading

Here’s the other gear guides we have published for wedding photographers:

Our complete guide to wedding photography DSLR bodies Complete guide to wedding photography zoom lenses

Click HERE to return to the main collection of photography equipment recommendations!

from SLR Lounge https://www.slrlounge.com/wedding-photography-dslr-prime-lenses-complete-guide/ via IFTTT

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